Purpose
by Skyla Pearl
Summary: All she wants a purpose in this black and white world, a driving force, and some color into her life.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's notes: I'm not going to be doing this much, so it's going to be a disclaimer. This is set solely in the point of view of Bianca during the B&W events as well as B2W2 ones and everything in between, focusing on the White Universe unlike many who stick to Black. This is for a reason. Part 1 is mostly canonical while parts 2 and especially 3 experience a divergence (but mostly sticks with the big picture). I'm inspired by fics like Olivine Romance which shine a light on characters which you wouldn't necessarily expect to be focused upon gives life to these characters while keeping their general aesthetic and personality as their in-game counterparts. I wrote this out about a year ago and edited it to oblivion. Hopefully, you'll like it.**_

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><p><span><em><strong>Part 1: The Things That Are In Black and White<strong>_

_**Chapter 1:**_

_**"How am I gonna be an optimist about this?"-Pompeii by Bastille**_

"I can do this. This will turn out fine. This will all be okay." I find myself pacing throughout my bedroom like a maniac. Everything is a disorganized mess as I tried (and somewhat managed) to pack my belongings earlier. I didn't make a list of the things I needed so I just took what I thought would be essential and if I needed it, I'd just win a battle or two and pay, right? "I am eighteen years old. I am a grown woman who can do whatever she wants...on a legal basis. Dad has no reason to hold me back. I can do this."

My nerves get the best of me and I flop down in my green beanbag chair. However, I don't take gravity all too well and my left hip takes the fall a little bit too brutally. "Owww!" Both my outburst and the pound are loud enough for my parents to hear. I perk my ears up, ready to give a response, but nothing. I dread hearing his voice. His is the last one I need to hear.

"I don't think I can do this." Again, my room is a disorganized mess. See, my general cleaning policy is that if I don't make a mess, then I don't have to clean, but ever since my life changed for the worse...well, not worse, exactly. More like uncertain, to be more precise. Anyway, ever since my life changed for the more uncertain, I quit caring about the state of my bedroom.

I should have known from the vantage point of my beanbag chair that I'd see what I refer to as _The Pile_. _The Pile_ is the collection of the papers that changed the course of my life. To put it short, they're college rejection letters. When I got the first one from Nacrene College, I was okay with it. It wasn't my first choice and none of the programs really interested me. Then I got the rejection letter from Castelia University, which was my top choice. Castelia University basically toyed with me for a few months, deferring my admission, saying they needed a few months more to look into my application instead of straight up accepting me like they did with Cheren. It wasn't until late March in which they gave me a cold rejection letter stating that I wasn't "what they were looking for". My last hope was with Striaton University, one of Castelia's satellite campuses as a last ditch effort and when they rebuffed me, I lost all hope. Worse yet, they recommended I try Accumula Community College, which was a big no considering how close it was to home.

This was totally humiliating in school as everyone talked about their future plans while I just stood there, wordless. Everyone found out about Castelia University's deferment and when I was silent about the ever-persistent acceptance, everyone automatically took it for the worse. I didn't care about everyone else's opinion, not really, even though I never spoke out on it. What I cared about was escaping Nuvema and seeing the world and most importantly, finding a purpose in my life and what I want to do with it.

I know why I got rejected. I wasn't as good of a student as Cheren was or as unique as White. There's nothing about me that really stands out and I can fully acknowledge that this is probably the reason why all of these schools didn't see me as worthy. It's okay, though. I think once a person accepts their flaws and sees the truth about themselves, they're then able to move on and fix them.

Everyone in school was surprised to see that Cheren rejected all of his college acceptances because he wanted to become Unova's Champion. And that's when it hit me. I could stall a little bit for time and do something instead of waste away here in Nuvema Town for the rest of my life with nothing to do. I didn't have to become a champ or even a Gym Leader. I just wanted to see what was out there.

That's what I truly want at this point in my life, and of that I'm certain.

I get up from my beanbag chair and adjust my long, white skirt and green hat, which is a little lopsided. "You know what? I _can_ and I _will_ do this!" Wait a second. I'm missing something. Oh right, the Xtransceiver. Silly me. I giggle, putting the white device on my left hand. I set the device's default app to the local time and..."It's ten o' clock? Oh no! Oh no! Oh dear! I'm totally late!" Like an hour late!

And just like that, I whiz out of my room, downstairs, and my parents. I forget that my father even exists for this moment in time. All I care for is that I need to go and get my Pokémon!

I knock on the door to White's house, huffing as I wait for someone to open the door. I'm not surprised to see that it's Mrs. White who opens the door. She gives me a dazzling smile. "Bianca! We were expecting you! Hilda and Cheren are upstairs, waiting for you to get their Pokémon. They're so anxious."

I smile back, though it's a lot more nervous than hers. "Yeah..." I'm anxious, too, all right. She lets me inside and I instantly make my way upstairs. Cheren and White are playing Super Smash Bros Brawl on her Wii. The air is intense and they don't see me walk in.

"Hellooooooo!"

"Bianca, shhhh!" White yells.

"You're gonna make me lose my winning streak!" Cheren says coolly. I watch the screen as White's blue Yoshi eats Cheren's Lucas and turns him into an egg. In this moment of vulnerability, Yoshi prepares for a game-winning strike that hits Lucas the moment he frees himself from the egg. Lucas is sent flying, a simple twinkle in the sky behind Eldin Bridge.

"GAME!"

"I win!" White gets up from the floor and does a victory dance. Cheren glares at her as she pulls him into her dorky dance. "Oh come on! Don't be such a sore loser!" It doesn't stop Cheren's glowering any more. I love Cheren so much (as a friend) but he takes everything so seriously. Like, say I tell him he needs to lighten up or any kind of criticism, he'll just talk you down and say that you're not the one in charge of his life and his wants. While this is true, it could prove disastrous. This is why I don't intervene in his goal-making plans.

"I'm _soooo_ sorry I'm late, you guys. I had some things I had to do. Last minute packing. I lost track of time." It was a bad explanation and I know it.

"Bianca, you know that you can't keep doing these things. You're holding up other peoples' time. It's inconsiderate of you," Cheren says, adjusting his glasses. White doesn't say anything, but I can see it in her eyes that she agrees with him.

"I know. I'm sorry White. I'm sorry Cheren. It's one of the things I promise I'll try and do better on." It really is.

"Well, now that everything's set in order, we should pick our starters!" White says, running across the room to the giant present box. It was her birthday the other day. The plan to start our time as trainers would be during the summer, where the weather would be ideal and everything would be open for business. White picks up a white envelope taped to the blue box.

"'Dear Hilda' ugh," White begins reading out loud. It's a bad idea to call her Hilda. She shudders at the mention of her name, which is something that her mother oftentimes ignores. Once she gets over the mention of her given name, she goes on, "'Happy belated birthday. Today is the scheduled starting day for you, Cheren, and Bianca for your Pokémon journey and in this box are Unova's three regional starting Pokémon. I picked the three of each species best suited to your personalities, but it is up to you to figure that out and create your own bonds with that Pokémon, as well as documenting the' blah blah blah. There's so much rambling here." White gets bored and begins to skim the letter. "Okay so we've got Snivy, Tepig, or Oshawott, basically. Why don't we take them out?"

Neither Cheren nor I object what White says. Besides, this was intended for her to decide.

White opens the box and impulsively takes out all three starters at the same exact time. A bright white light flashes for an instant and out are three extremely tiny (and utterly adorable) Pokémon. It looks extremely easy to tell what their typing is based on their colors. The tallest of the three, Snivy, distances himself from the other two starters and skitters all the way to White's already made bed and begins jumping on it. Oshawott gives a dazed and confused look and makes a run for it towards the door. Tepig begins to run around in a flurry all across the room in total excitement.

"Oh dear!" I say.

"In hindsight, taking all three of these Pokémon out at the same time was not a good idea," Cheren says, adjusting his glasses.

"Get them!" White yells, running towards the door and scooping up the crying Oshawott, who then stops crying in her arms. Cheren orders Snivy to get down from White's bed and he reluctantly listens to his stern commands. That just leaves Tep-

"Oof!" Something collides into my skirt. "There you are, Tepig." He begins to circle around me rather excitedly and lets out a little jump when he tires himself out. I pick him up and he lets out little squeals. He's underweight compared to what I've read on most Tepigs. "Hi there, Tepig. My name's Bianca. Do you want to be my friend?" I get more happy squeals from him. "I'm taking that as a yes. Is that okay?"

As Tepig gives me another squeal, White picks up another page to the letter Professor Juniper gave her. "So it says here that all three of these starters are male and that this will be our final choice. I kind of want to go with Oshawott if that's okay with you guys."

"Not a problem with me. I don't think Snivy would be able to handle either of you, no offense." Snivy climbs onto Cheren's shoulder and gives a proud look. I oddly don't get offended by what Cheren has to say. Snivy looks like he'd be too high maintenance.

"Same here. Tepig and I look made for each other. You know what? I've got the perfect idea. I, Bianca Bel, challenge you, Hil... I mean, White to a trainer battle!" I rush in and battle with Tepig against Oshawott...

...And get my butt curbstomped by White.

Tepig takes the loss by crying. I bend down and pat him. "Hey, it's okay. We'll train and get better. There's always room for improvement."

"Uh...guys?" Cheren says, pointing at our environment. I gasp, noticing how White's room has become completely demolished. Her bed has broken down and is on the floor, her posters taken off, her plushies ripped in half, and-

"Is that tracks on the ceiling?" White asks, completely stupefied.

How is that possible by the laws of physics?

"Hey look! The Wii is unharmed, though," I point out.

"Yayyyy," both White and Cheren cheer at the same time. Bless that Wii.

"Anyway. It's my turn now," Cheren says.

As my two best friends battle and Tepig and I watch, my mind strays away to the matter I've been ignoring for the last few minutes: how I'm going to handle my dad. I don't even notice when White wins the battle despite the type disadvantage.

"I think we're ready to go now," White says.

"Yeah. Hey guys. I need to go and do something important for a quick second, okay?" I fly off, leaving my two friends alone in their room.

Mrs. White is sitting in the kitchen, drinking her morning coffee. "Have fun, Bianca."

"I'm sorry!" She gives a confused look, but it's too late. My nerves have completely taken control over me. "Okay, Tepig. We can do this." Tepig squeals in confusion. "I'll explain later. Now's the moment of truth. We can do this, you and me."

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	2. Chapter 2

**To my dearest Guest: I just happened to get really sick when I wrote that A/N and reading your review the next day made me feel a lot better and made my weekend! I forgot to mention in my endless editing that _this is not a Bianca/Cheren fic_. Bianca ends up falling for someone definitely considered a "crack pairing" more suited towards her interests and the purpose is to treat it as seriously and realistically as possible (I mostly specialize in said crack pairings, anyway). I want Bianca/Cheren/White (or Hilda or Touko or Whitlea or Nina, etc) to be one of those "Two Girls and a Guy" tropes played straight where they remain friends for life.**

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><p><span><em><strong>Chapter 2 <strong>_

**_"Feeling my way through the darkness, g__uided by a beating heart, __I can't tell where the journey will end, b__ut I know where to start." Wake Me Up by Avicii ft Aloe Blacc_**

"Dad I'm leaving on a Pokémon journey!" I say out loud the moment I walk in the door in the most affirmative tone I can. Problem is that no one is visible in sight.

The door slams from behind me, making a very audible_ smack!_ noise.

"BIANCA GWENDOLYN BEL GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!" I hear dad's voice screaming from upstairs. It makes my feet quake so much so that I'm afraid I'm going to turn into a shell. Tepig feels my fear and begins shaking in my arms as well.

"We need to be strong, okay?" Truth is, I'm not a strong person. I'm really not. I made this decision a few months ago and ran it through with my mom. Okay, she's not really my mom, but she's been so helpful and supportive of me my entire life that I see her in that way. She said to me that if stuff goes down with dad about this, she'll be there to back me up. I hope this holds true.

I'm half surprised I made it upstairs in one piece. There he is, standing straight and holding my bag by its string. Mom is sitting on my bed with a dejected, defeated look on her face. I can feel my blood turning cold.

"Bianca!" Dad is seething in anger, the redness of his face glowing all the way towards his receding hairline. Dad and I don't look much alike but I'm told I have his ears. He's not very tall, if I'm being honest, as when I stand straight, I match him in height. He's kind of chubby with black eyes and brown hair. I meanwhile, have blonde hair and green eyes, making my appearance very distinctly different from his. I'm not exactly fat, but I'm not thin either, as everything goes straight to the lower half of my body, aka these demon things I call my hips. My lack of resemblance to him can be a problem sometimes. Mom is standing behind him, giving me encouraging looks. "What is this?" he asks in an interrogating matter, pointing my green bag in my direction. "And what is that piglet doing in your arms?" His eyes are narrow, his rage palatable.

"D-D-Dad. I'm..." I falter, "I'm going on a Pokémon journey!"

"No you are not," he retorts in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Albert..." mom says, standing up. "Hear her out."

"You are going to march up straight back into the lab and return that thing back to the professor right now!" he says, ignoring mom completely.

"No." I adjust my Tepig and make sure that he's being held by one arm and boldly make my way to where my dad is standing. "I'm going to take this now." I grab my green bag and head downstairs.

Of course, he follows me with mom trailing him. Our footsteps thump with a loudness that all of Nuvema could possibly hear. "Bianca! Bianca! BIANCA!" He says as I approach the door.

I turn around so I can face him. My eyes can't meet his. "S-So tell me, dad why do you think I c-can't leave on a journey?" I have a feeling I know what he's going to say. I can feel the color draining from my face and Tepig won't stop shaking in fear at his behavior. I'm about to break down crying.

"You know nothing about the Pokémon world, Bianca. That's reason enough."

"Albert. She's eighteen. She's old enough to go exploring."

"No! No! A thousand times no!"

"But...I'm a good trainer and my Tepig and I love each other. I'm ready to see the world and see things for myself. I can't stay here in Nuvema my entire life while everyone goes out and sees the world."

"This is nonsense. Where is the Bianca who always listened to her father? The quiet, studious girl who is kind and polite? This is petty behavior on your part and you are being inconsiderate."

His words take a blow to my heart. Maybe I should have consulted him on this. I mean, he's right. It isn't like me to be rebelling and doing things behind someone's back but I know that if I stay here I will live a life full of sadness and regret. I will never learn and I will be the Bianca who everyone's always made fun of. I won't prove anything. I won't do anything. I'll just wilt into something that never was. "I'm sorry, daddy. But this is what I want. Just because I look like my birth mom doesn't mean I'm going to end up like her."

Dad is stunned into silence.

"She's right, you know."

"I guess this is goodbye. Even though I don't have your blessing, I'm still leaving." Mom comes up to me and gives me a warm side-hug. She also pats my Tepig on his tiny head and gives a small, resolute smile.

"You may not have your father's blessing, but you have mine. Be safe and grow. I love you," she whispers. Her whisper alone gives me confidence, reminding me of all of the times I confided in her in regards to my future and the possibility that I would go on to train Pokémon.

When I walk out the door, my emotions begin to swirl in a tizzy. I did it. I gained a spine and did what I had to do to make myself happy. What I don't notice is White standing right there.

"Hey, is everything okay? I heard loud noises." It's White, who just happens to be walking from her place and passing by. How much did she hear?

"Everything's fine," I reaffirm. I know I have a tendency to do that even when everything's not with me, but people don't have to know. She gives me a knowing look. It's odd. She can both sympathize and at the same time, not understand me at all due to the situation our lives spun us in. "Please don't mention any of this to Cheren." I know Cheren and once again, he and my dad will have a clash of personalities and I'll end up losing. It's best to just leave the situation be at that.

"Okay. It's your choice." Tepig makes a menacing oink at White, giving her a glare. If she noticed it, then she chose to ignore it.

"Good. Um. Last one to make it to Juniper's a rotten egg!" I take off, leaving White in the dust. I need to put this in the back of my mind.

Juniper's lab is a mess, to say the least. There's books scattered everywhere and posters of rare and fully evolved Pokémon stuck on all corners of the lab. It's scatterbrained and yet somewhat calming. Juniper comes off as a lot less scary than the other Pokémon regional professors. Sinnoh's Professor Rowan is so ridiculously scary I change the channel whenever he's on!

"It's good to see you three here at the lab. And I see that you three chose the starters I hoped you would choose so that makes me quite glad. There's a couple of things I want to discuss. First, here are your Pokédexes. Your job is to capture data from as many Pokémon as you can. This is a rather ambitious task as Unova is on record, one of the regions with the most native Pokémon to it so I do not fully expect you to fully achieve the Unovan amount. Especially with the sheer number of Legendaries and the whole Sword Trio and Zekrom and Reshiram and those cloud ones and I've heard of some mythical ones like Victini and Meloetta and Gene-"

"Err, excuse me, Professor Juniper, but we could be here all day talking about Legendary Pokémon," Cheren interrupts, raising his hand.

"Oh, but of course! Second, and more important: your Pokédexes will be the keys to unlocking Pokémon data, of course and by this, I mean their nature, habitat, what they eat, and so on. Cheren, you have a Snivy with a serious nature. Although you don't have to worry about feeding it food it won't like, it is recommended to feed it leafy greens. The Snivy line requires a lot of care, especially when its evolutions shed their scales. Bianca, you have a Tepig of a quirky nature. Like Cheren's, he'll eat everything and anything, though as he reaches his stages, you'll have to feed him more as his body grows. Emboars are giant eaters and fierce protectors and yours is the only line of the three to gain a second type after evolution. Hilda," she rolls her eyes at the mention of her name, "you have an Oshawott of a naive nature. Oshawott are low maintenance and this one is no exception just make sure to..."

She goes off into more tangents and one of her posters catches my eye. It's of a giant, orange pig with flames coming out of his shoulders and what looks like an infinity sign on his center. He has a proud look not unlike the one Cheren's Snivy has. I burst into a fit of giggles when I realize what this Pokémon resembles.

"Bianca, are you all right? She just asked you if you wanted to nickname your Tepig?" Cheren says, not understanding why I find this so hilarious.

"Oh yeah. Uh right. Emboar is the final evolution stage, isn't it? It's that one over there?" I point to the poster.

"Why yes. Why do you ask."

"Hey guys. Doesn't he look familiar?" I ask both White and Cheren.

"Uhhh," I get bewildered expressions from both.

"It like totally looks like Ganon! You know! From _The Legend of Zelda_! Oh my gosh! I'm totally gonna name you Ganon. You like that?" Ganon squeals in joy. "Yayyy! Well, we're off!" I take off, feeling the need to go on an adventure.

"Have fun!" Juniper says.

"Wait for me!" Cheren says and White follows after. The three of us open the door and instantly collide with White's mom.

"Hello there. I'm noticing you three are forgetting the most essential part of a trainer's journey. Here's a map of Unova to help guide you through."

"Oh wow, Mrs. White. You didn't really have to do this," Cheren says.

"But it's the right thing to do. Otherwise you'll end up lost. Well, this means goodbye. I hope you three see lots of Pokémon on your journey and grow as people." She comes closer to me and hands me the map. "Don't worry too much about him. He just misses Wendy, you know? He doesn't want anything bad to happen to you, that's all," she says, her voice low enough for only me to hear.

I look down at the floor in response, knowing it would be a terrible idea to start crying. Ganon has no clue what Mrs. White is saying and he grunts in a confused manner as he senses my change in feelings. "I think it's time for you to go back to your ball, Ganon." I recall him back, the red light absorbing him and taking him back to his place.

"You'll be okay, Bianca. I know you and Wendy would have wanted you to disobey your father, too. This is a natural part of life." She hands me the map of Unova and I stuff it in my bag.

"Hey Bianca, aren't you gonna catch up? I thought you wanted us to take the first step out of town you with?" Cheren asks from afar.

"Coming!" I look back at Mrs. White. "Thank you."

Cheren and White are at the town limits. I know we've been to Accumula thousands of times with our parents but this is the first time we'll ever take our steps on our adventure. Even though we plan on having a separate journey, I did want us to take the first step into Route 1 together as friends to show that we'll still be the same despite growing up.

"Okay guys. Are you ready to take the first step into our journey!"

"Yes," Cheren says.

"Hell yes!" White yells, scaring off all of the Pidoves.

White stands in the center and hooks the left side of her arm to Cheren's and her right side with me. "Okay. On the count of three," I begin.

"One," we say in unison, "two...three!" One small step for us, one big step into adulthood.

"Yay we did it!" I hug White and Cheren gives us a high five.

"Ahem," coughs a voice that doesn't belong to either one of us. When we find the source of the voice, it belongs to none other than Professor Juniper. "I see you've made your first step into Route 1 but you still don't know the basics of Pokémon catching!"

The three of us give each other pained looks. "Ughhhhhh," Cheren groans. This is going to be a long day.

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	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

_**"We do it in the dark with smiles on our faces. We're dropped and well concealed in secret places, we don't fight fair." **_

_**-Fall Out Boy, The Take's Over, the Break's Over**_

"Huff, huff." I run as fast as possible. I'm getting desperate in my run, as I try avoiding anyone and everyone because if I get challenged to one more battle, I'm in trouble. As I run, I notice that the environment gets blurrier and blurrier and my panic rises. The buildings seem to get closer and closer so I'm approaching the safe zone.

"Excuse me, miss?" I get immediately approached by a girl with the longest dark blue hair I've ever seen the moment I walk into Striaton City. She has large blue eyes under glasses and a lab coat. I've heard of the Scientist Trainer Class and how they like to use X things like attack or guard. I can't do this anymore!

"Oh no!" Not another call to battle! I don't like these trainer rules. How is it that when you make eye contact with someone, it automatically means you're required to battle? Who invented these rules? Madge, my Lillipup has fainted and lost her will to battle and Ganon's close enough to fainting.

"Huh?"

"Please don't make me battle! I don't think it'd be a fair fight."

"I'm not here to battle. In fact, my only Pokémon is with my sister in our apartment. Actually I was told by my colleague Professor Juniper that three new trainers would arrive and that I could ask them for help. You fit the description of the one named Bianca. I talked to White earlier, but she's currently taking on the gym."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"If you want, we can walk and talk to the Pokémon center. My name is Fennel, by the way."

"Why yes. I'm sorry for being a little irrational earlier. I just want my Pokémon to be healthy," I say honestly. "Being a trainer can be grueling. I've only been doing this for two days and I'm starting to understand that it isn't as easy as some make it out to be. I still find it really fun, though!" Just not the kind of job I see myself doing for the next few years or for the rest of my life.

"That's perfectly understandable," Fennel says. "I never had time to be a trainer and I was more interested in science than training, to be completely honest. I'm a PhD candidate for Castelia University and my thesis topic is the Munna line and its power to manipulate dreams. That's where you and White come in. I need you to collect some dream mist for me over at the Dreamyard. Lately, there's been an odd shortage of Munna and Musharna and I think some battling might be required and battling isn't something I do. It's just past the Gym on the right, in that direction," she points towards an area with a large, slightly unkempt hedge.

"I can do it. No problem!" I say when we stop just in front of the Pokémon Center building.

"Great! Well, I'll leave you to it, then. It was nice meeting you, Bianca!"

I go inside and heal my Pokémon. I also go ahead and use up almost all of my money in potions and Pokémon treats and make a room reservation for the night. I'm glad I don't have to spend what little I have left. I check my funds. "Great. I only have a hundred left. I don't think I can go buy some food for myself with it. That's okay. At least my babies will be able to eat and be happy!" I take out Madge and Ganon out of their balls. "Hey guys! Lunchtime!"

Ganon eats with a such desperation while Madge eats slowly, as though eating wears her out. I've watched Ganon and Madge interact for the last day and I've noticed there's no change in either of their behaviors. Ganon tries to be talkative (I think) and friendly towards Madge, but she's hesitant, almost as if she's afraid of him. I'm not totally surprised by it, considering she has a timid nature and she's caught so I'm hoping she'll open up to me.

I really hope she does. I've always wanted a Lillipup friend.

"Are you two all done now?" Ganon, of course finished minutes ago while Madge is struggling with her snack. I'm glad the Pokémon Center's jukebox is playing over my growling stomach. What I'd do to have some coffee right now! "Okay, let's go explore the Dreamyard, guys!" I call them back into their Pokéballs to rest.

The Dreamyard isn't quite what I thought it'd be. Striaton seems like such a neat and organized city with this small talk kind of urbanized place, but this gives off an abandoned vibe. There's what used to be a building as it's completely demolished. The grass is overgrown and a darker shade of green than what I've seen on my journey so far. I don't know why I get this odd sense of peacefulness. I think I like this place, though. There's something about it that strikes me as mystical.

I close my eyes and take in this moment for all I can. Everything is so quiet.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"AHHHH!" The sudden and all too close noise from behind me makes me jump in total surprise, causing me to lose footing and nearly twist my ankle. I manage to salvage the situation before it gets worse. When I look back, I see it's an ordinary looking young teenage girl wearing a yellow dress and a matching headband. I take a deep breath and give her a nervous smile. There's nothing wrong with her.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I wanted to ask you if you were a trainer?"

"Oh me?" I ask nervously. "Why yes, I am."

"That's so cool! I have a bit of a problem and I wanted to know if you could help me?" She sounds sincere in her asking so I nod my head.

"Well of course I can help! I want to use my Pokémon for whatever good I can achieve." Even though I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing other than attempting to collect badges.

"See, my Pokémon kind of overbred."

"Huh?" How does a Pokémon overbreed?

"I gave my extra Pansear away to this lovely, yet arrogant looking boy with green hair and I have these two newborn Pans. I saw you walk into the Dreamyard and I followed you here since you look like a trainer."

"Oh. Well, if it's no hassle, I wouldn't mind taking one of them off your hands." It would be just one more to love!

"Really?" Her face lights up in joy.

"Of course not!" I extend my hand and sway it a little bit nonchalantly.

"What's your starter?"

"Huh?"

"It's important for me to know who you started with. The gym leaders here base it around who you started with and go for the type advantage."

"I started with a Tepig." I look into my bag and begin to fumble with it for a moment and take out Tepig's ball. The sheen of light grows and...

"Pup? Pup?" Madge's form takes place instead.

"Whoops! Sorry! Wrong one!" I recall Madge back into her ball and finally find the other ball among all of my other things. Ganon comes out and makes a circle around the girl.

"Great! Here's your Pansage, then! Please take care of him, all right?" She takes out a Pokéball from her pocket and entrusts it to me. I throw the ball onto the floor and a green monkey a little bit taller than Ganon pops up. His beady black eyes dart all over the Dreamyard, his leafy tail wagging forth in just as a hectic manner. His eyes fall on Ganon and he begins to scream for his life.

Pansage makes a quick jump upwards and latches himself onto my dress. "Aww!"

"I forgot to mention this one's a timid Pokémon, it doesn't take very well to new surroundings. Anyway, I'm going to the trainer's school. It was nice meeting you!"

"It was nice meeting you t-whoa!" Pansage jumps higher and higher, reaching all the way up to my shoulder as far away from Ganon as possible. Then his tiny hands smack straight into my line of vision, obscuring the world as I see it. "Whoa! Whoa!" I spin around in a circle as Pansage screams more. Then the world crashes down.

I fall hip first into the ground and the world is visible again.

"Tepig?" Ganon questions when I regain a sense of what just happened. What I see happen next is something I should have honestly expected: the Pansage walks off into the tall grass.

"Hey! Wait! Pansage! Pansage!" I quickly get up, not bothering to dust off the bits of dirt and grass on my skirt and follow the Pansage. Ganon runs just ahead of myself as I try to catch up to him as he makes his way around the corner of the obliterated building, on the other side of the wall. As I get closer, I notice that Pansage stops in his tracks and completely halts.

When I finally reach him, Pansage repeats his past actions and hops up to my shoulders. "Pansage..." I begin scolding, but his hands frantically point northwest of where I'm standing. Two other people are here as well. They're oddly dressed, like knights from a fairy tale or some kind of medieval kingdom. I feel like I've seen these outfits before somewhere but before I try to place them, I hear Ganon growl menacingly for the first time. I grab Ganon from the floor and hide behind the shadows of the destroyed building.

"TEP!" Ganon keeps growling in my arms while Pansage won't stop shaking. Light smoke comes out of my arms and I see that it's coming from Ganon's snout.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, Ganon!" They must be something bad if my Ganon is reacting like this. I don't understand, though. Knights are supposed to be good, aren't they?

"I don't get it," the taller knight says out loud. "Why are we here on this stupid mission? This area is obviously abandoned and ugly."

"You idiot," the smaller and I figure, female knight, judging by her voice says, "We were sent here to find that Munna. Lord Ghetsis says that with dream smoke, we can find a way to influence people through dreams and we can get them to release all Pokémon through nightmares."

"But that makes no sense. What about the Darkrai and Cresselia Pokémon? How do they factor into this?"

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Now shut up and help me search."

What? Pokémon release? What are they talking about? Wait a moment. I heard stuff about this yesterday. White and Cheren were talking about the same topic for quite a few hours, despite my general confusion. This has to be connected, no doubt. I don't know why I focused so hard on teasing White about that boy she met then. I mean, if a guy's cute, then why not talk to him?

"Bianca? What are you doing here?" The voice comes from the other side of the building, where I got Pansage. When I look, it's White just innocently standing there.

"Shhh!" I grab her by the arm and pull her into the shadows with me.

"What was that?" The female knight says.

"Hey! It's those guys again," White says.

"They're going after Munna. Wait a second, are you here because of Munna too?" I ask.

"Yeah. I promised that scientist chick I'd help her after getting my badge." Her eyes glance up and down, surely noticing the two Pokémon I have latched to my body. "Also, why is your Tepig angry? Oh and you have a new friend too. He's just like Cilan's."

"Isn't he adorable? He's a little bit afraid and truth be told, so am I. I don't think these people want to use that Munna for good purposes." When I finish my sentence, I hear a cackle from the female knight.

"There you are, you little brat!" I see the two knights surround a tiny pink Pokémon with a purple flower on its body that hovers just over the ground.

"MUN-NA!" It begins to cry.

My eyes widen at the poor thing's distress. "Oh no! White, we need to save it." Every inch of my body wants to run towards the poor creature and save it.

"Bianca. I don't think it's a good idea for you to-"

"Come on you stupid thing. Do the thing with the smoke," the male says. The Munna cries even harder. The man then kicks Munna and it falls to the floor.

"NO!" I can't stay here hiding like a coward. "HEY! YOU JERKS!" I come out running at them. Ganon wiggles himself out of my arms, his snarls worse than ever before.

"Bianca, no!" White whispers, but I ignore her. I don't care that I'm rushing into the situation without backup or experience. I saw what I saw and I'm not going to just stand there hiding because if I do, then I'm no worse than the ones who kicked the Munna.

"That's not right. How dare you treat this poor, innocent creature like that!" The voice that comes out of me doesn't feel like my own. It sounds like a rabid, possessed Bianca rather than my usual self. I don't know what's gotten into me, but justice needs to be served and they need a stern talking to. My body is burning, all of it, rage consuming me in its fire. I'm not holding back anything.

It upsets me more when they stare at me with a look of nonchalance, as though I'm just a blip in their plan.

"Go away, little trainer," the male one says. Now that I'm close, I can get a better look at their faces, considering they were really blurry from where I was standing. They look like twins with large blue eyes and ginger hair.

"No," I say, defiant. I'm staying my ground. I'm going to save this Munna, even if it gets me in trouble.

"Then I'll make you. Patrat! Get them!" the male one releases a Pokémon I'm all too familiar with.

"Go Purrloin," the female releases another Pokémon I've battled quite a lot on this day. The same Pokémon species that almost took out my entire team about an hour or two ago.

"Bianca!" White steps into the fray.

"Great. How many of you trainer brats are here?" the female knight says. "If there are any more of you, just come out now."

"There's no more of us. You know, I saw you guys yesterday in Accumula, I thought you guys had this relatively kooky, but well meaning approach, but now I'm starting to think otherwise. For people who stress liberation due to abuse, that's pretty hypocritical of you," White says. "And for that...Oshawott, go!" He attacks the Purrloin with a Water Gun.

"Ganon, use your mighty powers of flame. Incinerate!" Of course, I mean for him to use Ember, but he understands nonetheless.

"Dodge it!" The male orders. It manages to listen to its owner as Ganon spews out flame after flame after flame at him. The Patrat stops momentarily to catch its breath from all of its dodging.

"Use Tackle!" Ganon manages to unleash his mighty tackle on the Patrat and it goes down in one hit.

"Oh no!" The man says, digging into his pockets and giving me almost five hundred in cash. Both he and I glance over at his comrade and she's down on the floor defeated already.

"This is embarrassing," the woman says. "We lost to a bunch of kids."

"Well, you shouldn't have kicked the Munna," White says, her hands against her hips.

"_Just what in the world is going on here_!" A voice I've never heard before yells in such a commanding way. A tall, tall man in a strange robe? Blanket? Snuggie?-comes out of nowhere. He's unlike anyone I've ever seen before, with long green hair with gray at the roots, half wrinkled, half scarred skin, and a red thingy on his eye (a monocle?). Nonetheless, the two knights cower in fear. I feel Pansage quake in fear as he hangs on my shoulders. Ganon does not react, however.

"L-Lord Ghetsis!" The female stammers, her haughtiness brought down quite a few levels.

"We-We tried to get that dream cloud from that Pokémon and we-"

"SILENCE! What happened just now is despicable. I am ashamed to be the superior of you two. You are a hindrance to the name 'Plasma'. You are an embarrassment to our king. I demand you go back to the base and you will face immediate punishment for your failure."

"No!" The girl says, crying.

"Oh Arceus no! We're not worthy! We're-We're Team Plasbad!" He suddenly runs off, forgetting about the Patrat he used to battle. She follows afterwards, but her Purrloin is nowhere to be seen.

My eyes divert back to the man known as Ghetsis, waiting for him to address us directly, but when I look back in his direction, there's nothing but pink smoke surrounding us.

"What?" White manages to say before the smoke overwhelms us and makes us cough. When the smoke clears, she's the first to react. "Bianca, look!"

Hovering over the injured Munna is another, slightly larger pink Pokémon surrounded by other Munnas. Ganon is the first to react, addressing the Pokémon with kind gestures. White's Oshawott follows.

"Wow that was spectacular!" Fennel says, also coming out of nowhere.

"That was weird as hell," White mumbles.

"What you just witnessed was the epic power of Musharna! See, Munna can conjure up dreams and manipulate them, but Musharna are much more extraordinary than that as they can warp reality from a person's mind. Man, this is just perfect for my thesis! Thanks!"

"Uhh, wait a second," White begins. "Where did you even come from? How much did you see?"

"Oh, I saw when you two fought those Team Plasma people. I've seen them hover around here for the last few weeks, but it got worse in these last few days. I don't know what's up with them but I don't buy their message."

"Me neither," White says.

"Musha. Musharna." The Musharna hovers excitedly as the injured Munna gets back up. Its Munna brethren help it out. Both Ganon and White's Oshawott come back to us along with one of the random Munna. Fennel takes out a bottle and encapsulates some of the dream mist from it.

"Thank you so much! I promise I'll credit you when I present my thesis and um, here! For your trouble!" She gives us both a thousand in cash each. "Oh, and if you want, you can come to my apartment and have dinner with me and my sister. We can have you test out my invention. Anyway, I've got to get going. I'll see you later!"

Both White and I are now left alone. "Bianca, I-"

"I'm sorry I stepped in and Leeroyed everything. I know I could have gotten hurt, but I had to do something!"

"No, it's not that. Look." Ganon and Munna are having an intense conversation. Oshawott isn't doing much. When Pansage gets a look, he slides down from my body and approaches the other Pokémon with tentative steps, joining the conversation between Ganon and Munna, not feeling intimidated by them anymore. The three then stop what they're doing and all glance up at me at the same time. Munna floats up to me, its tiny body directing facing mine. This is right around the time I notice that the other Munna and Musharna are long gone. The Munna gives me a wistful look.

"Dude, I think she wants to join you," White says.

What? "Me?"

"Well, yeah. I know you went all Leeroy Jenkins on Team Plasma, but someone had to go and fight for their beliefs. I haven't seen you rage like that since we were fifteen. That was pretty awesome."

"Really?" My eyes dart around Munna, Pansage, White, and Ganon. They all seem to agree with White. The feeling that I'm unfamiliar with comes crashing down on me, but I welcome it. It's uplifting and invigorating and unlike anything I've ever felt before. I suddenly recognize it and realize it's something I've always found hard to come by. I gush about boys all the time, but can't approach them. I study hard, but blank out over tests or oral exams. I rehearse conversations in my head (mostly with my dad), but stutter and mumble but this. I know what this is. This is a surge of confidence.

It...It feels amazing!

**Please do review, it makes me so happy to see your comments!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

_**"There's nothing I want, but money and time" Million Dollar Bills by Lorde**_

I shouldn't have done that! It was a terrible mistake. I should have known this feeling of confidence was fleeting and that it would bite me back really, really hard!

I walked into the Gym not long after the confrontation with Team Plasma and faced Cress for the gym badge, but he somehow swept my team with his Lillipup, KO-ing Ganon, Courage the Pansage, and Munny in just a few short rounds. By the time that Lillipup was worn down, it was up to his Panpour versus Madge, who I'll admit is the weak link of my team when going up against Cress.

I'm sitting in my small room at the Pokécenter, bawling my eyes out. Madge and Ganon are trying their best to soothe my crying, but it fails. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I feel like I'm failing you. I don't want to hurt you and force you to take on battles you can't win." I also made the mistake of not ordering my daily coffee before taking out on Cress. All of the money I won from fighting Plama and most of what I won from Fennel was given to Cress. That stung even more considering I could now barely afford to feed my lovelies for tomorrow. I mean, I suppose I could take on more trainer battles, but what for if I might lose again?

"Bianca?" Cheren's voice says from the other side of the door. He fiddles with the doorknob and lets himself in. "I was told you came in crying. What happened?"

I can't speak, bursting into even louder sobs as my best friend watches awkwardly. Neither him nor White are good at handling emotions or confronting them, which makes whenever I cry a problem. He gives me an awkward pat on the shoulder. "I lost."

"What did you lose? I can help you find it."

I wipe some of the streaming tears falling down my cheeks. "I didn't lose anything other than money. I lost the—I lost the gym battle!" I lose all control of myself, pulling Cheren closer to me and sobbing into his blazer.

"Oh. Uh. That. What made you want to challenge the gym, anyway?"

I pull myself away from his blazer, noticing the wet tear stains and snot from it. "I don't know!"

"Um. Okay. So something unknown made you want to challenge the gym."

"I thought it'd be easy. I mean, White won on her first try." Cheren's face then changes.

"Bianca. You know that we're not White. We have to work for what we get. Things...Things don't come easy for us. It's like she's born with something...I don't know." I know of Cheren's longstanding feelings of jealousy and competitiveness towards White. I have them too, but it's mostly due to petty, meaningless, and forgettable things like who attracts more of the opposite gender or which one of us is better with people. Cheren's goes deeper and it honestly concerns me sometimes, however, if it wasn't the extra push she'd obliviously give him, then he wouldn't be the friend I know and appreciate. "I have an idea. Why don't we train a bit together and you hold off from challenging them for a few days? Then we can take on them and win."

"Okay." The last of my tears dries up and Cheren's face shows relief that I'm no longer crying. I'm still sniffing quite a lot, though.

"Great. So what are your Pokémon?" I show him my fab four and his eyes set on Courage. "Wait. A Pansage? Where'd you get a Pansage?"

"Some girl approached me and gave him to me."

"Bianca." Cheren slaps his hand against the side of his head. "You know you shouldn't be so trusting all the time."

"Please don't give me this lecture." Sometimes Cheren acts like he's my dad 2.0 whenever I flub something. I know he means well, but honestly needs to get it together.

"Okay fine, but you had a clear type advantage. Why didn't you use it?"

"Well...I didn't really know. I just led in with Ganon right here and thought he could sweep them."

"Recall your Pokémon right now, Bianca."

"Huh?"

"Come on." He gives me the Pokéballs and takes my hand the moment I recall them.

"Where are you taking me?"

"School. You're going to learn about strategy and tact right now."

"Nooooooooooooo." He drags a reluctant me out of my room. There's not much I can do when Cheren's in a helpful mood, is there?

* * *

><p>I wake up the next day feeling overwhelmed and groggy. Okay, there's over fifteen types of Pokémon and I can almost never fully figure out type matchups. Like, how am I supposed to remember more obscure matchups like poison being weak to psychic? Or even immunities? This is so hard! I mean, I got to eat dinner with Fennel, White, and Amanita, but that was a lucky break. I didn't want to tell Fennel I gambled her money away, but the guilt I had was gnawing away at me. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to feed myself and my Pokémon for the day.<p>

I need to figure something out. Fast. I walk out of the Pokécenter, feeling this odd mixture of desperation, determination, and hunger and stumble against someone carrying a bag of groceries. "Ahh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking." Wait a minute. I know this guy.

"Hey, I know you!" he says, reading my mind. "You're that pretty chick who went up against my brother!"

"Uh...yeah. What was your name again?" I give him a once over. He's cute, with red hair that looks like a flame and matching red eyes. He's dressed in a waiter's outfit much like Cress was. I was too focused on my impending battle to notice his brothers.

"I'm Chili! You're Bianca, right?" My cheeks burn with embarrassment over the fact that not only has a boy remembered my name, but that I didn't know his in the first place. "See, us firestarters got to stick together!"

"Uh?" Firestarters?

"I didn't mean it like that! You've got a Tepig and I've got a Pansear. And a Simisear. And a Heatmor. And a Darmanitan, but that's not the point. Hey, you wanna go hang out with me for breakfast?" Wait, what? He's inviting me for breakfast?

"Bianca!" Cheren's voice comes out of the Pokécenter. "I was looking for you."

"Really?" I kind of wanted to avoid him and school. I see Chili's face fall as Cheren walks right up. Oh my gosh. This guy can't be...interested in me, can he?

"Yes. Who's this?" Cheren gives Chili an inquisitive look. It's too neutral for me to tell, but I'm used to seeing him gauge people like this.

"I'm Chili. I'm the gym leader here. Co-leader, actually. I fight those who start with grass types, typically." Cheren raises his eyebrow at this, but I don't think Chili takes notice. "Anyway, I was asking Bianca here to have breakfast over at the gym with us. You can join us too, if you'd like."

Cheren's now quiet. "Well, Bianca and I were going to spend the day training, but I don't see the harm in it."

"Well, that's great! Follow me and I'll take you to the Gym for breakfast. We'll even make food for your Pokémon." Chili practically takes off and I glance over at Cheren.

"Don't say anything about me battling him later on, okay?" I give him a confused look. "Look, I'm here to know the enemy. Do some reconnaissance."

I pause, staring at his intense dark blue eyes. "Oh, Cheren." I laugh uncontrollably. "You're insane!"

"I'll wipe off that laughter off your face when I beat him. Come on, before he suspects something."

The gym/café has only but a few people when we enter. Chili has set the groceries on the table and Cress is sweeping the floor. My stomach drops as our eyes meet once more. Him. I'm sure he didn't mean to make me cry, since it is his job and everything, but I didn't think seeing him once more would open up these wounds again.

"I brought some new friends of mine!" Chili announces to his brother. "I think you already know the lovely Bianca..." I can't help my face flushing once more. "And this...uh. Dude, what's your name?"

Cress begins to snicker. Upon closer inspection, he reminds me of Cheren quite a bit.

"Cheren."

"Yes, Cheren. Hey, isn't that a girl's name?" Chili asks.

Cheren gives him a death glare worthy of a Gullotine. I think I'm the only one us three who doesn't get made at certain things regarding our names. White rages when you call her Hilda, Cheren will give you the glare of doom when you insinuate his name is a girl's name, and I...I don't really have any qualms about anything, really.

But before Cheren can retaliate, the third brother comes from the kitchen. I personally think he's the least cute out of the trio, but that's saying something because he's also pretty cute. "Hey, we've got a bit of a problem today," he says, barely noticing us.

Cress sighs while Chili is nonplussed.

"What's up, Cilan?"

"We've got a seventh badger headed our way this afternoon, you know the drill."

"Seventh badger?" Chili asks, his voice excited.

"Interesting," Cress says.

"Ring...the...ALARMS!" Chili screams at the top of his lungs, making both Cheren and I cover our ears at his voice and the loud alarms that come with it. A small amount of waiters and waitresses (I remember fighting a few of them) run into the room, lining up in a horizontal line.

"What the hell is going on?" Cheren asks me in total confusion.

"I don't know. Just go with it."

The three brothers line up opposite of them. "Men! And women, I guess," Chili begins. "Today we have an elusive eighth badge seeker scheduled at two o'clock."

"Actually, it's at noon," Cilan corrects rather meekly.

"What he said. It is imperative that we spruce up the place for the cameras. You," he points towards a random group. "You three will help Cress clean up the place. You three will go help Cilan in the kitchen. And you three will decorate the place with me. And..."

"It's not enough to deal with the pandemonium," Cress says.

"I know it isn't enough! Ahhh! What are we going to do? We need help!" Chili says in a panic, pulling at his hair.

"I can help," I offer. "Cheren can too, if he wants."

"I'll help too, I guess," Cheren says, shrugging. Chili gives us a winning smile while both of his brothers look a lot more relieved.

* * *

><p>As the morning races closer to noon, Cheren and I are given a breakfast and all of our Pokémon are fed as well. Except for Snivy due to obvious recon purposes on Cheren's part. I still think he's being a little silly.<p>

I'm wearing an orange dress that's a size too big for most of my body with a large white frock at the center. The dress feels so awkward on me as it keeps trying to rise due to my hips, yet it's loose around the chest, arms, and back area. Nonetheless, the three brothers have complimented me on my wear, though I think they did it out of courtesy. Cheren, on the other hand, looks highly uncomfortable in his waiter's outfit. He keeps on pulling on his red bow tie every three seconds.

The one to approach us is Cilan, who I've come to notice is the behind-the-scenes man. He's the one who receives the itinerary and creates all of the accommodations. Meanwhile, Chili is out there giving directions to everyone and putting people in their places. He's even somehow gotten Cheren to sweep the floor. Cress, on the other hand, is more responding and more comfortable dealing with the kitchen. It's a large, large kitchen, this section of it being the biggest. There's a smaller room for tea and drink making and another for things I don't quite know. I guess it's a larger supply room?

"Bianca," Cress says from outside the kitchen. I come up to him and nod. "Do you have any experience cooking?"

"Cooking? Define cooking?" I've made sandwiches for myself. I've also been able to make myself a salad. I'm also proficient with a microwave. Except when I overtime it.

"Boiling, grilling, you know."

"Ummm. No?" My mom is the one who makes the food and dad doesn't like me walking in there because of the danger it can pose.

Cress sighs, running his hand through his hair so that his covered up eye shows. "I kind of need you to help me make this pasta. It's really easy to make. I need to do some other kitchen things and you're the only one who can help. I need to go and boil a lot tea so it would mean a lot to me."

Oh my gosh. "Of course," I find myself saying.

"Good. I have written directions for you to undertake. Thank you so much, Bianca." I give him a smile. I have no idea what I'll be doing but okay.

Okay. This isn't much to do. The pasta is in a wooden pasta rack and all I have to do is boil it for a few minutes. Easy. I begin to take out the ingredients Cress has written down for me to obtain. Sauce is up there in the middle counter. The garlic is over there on the far side. The Parmesan is here. Okay. Okay. This isn't so bad. I gather them all up in the counter by the sink.

_Hiss_.

Oh no! When I look over at the large boiling pan, it's overflowing with boiled water, the bubbles flying off the sides and into the the round coil thingys. "Ahh!" I turn off the stove immediately and run to the refrigerator and take as much ice as I can throwing the cubes into the pan. Nothing happens as they all quickly melt. "What do I do? What do I do?" I take the still overflowing pan and run to the sink on the other side of the kitchen, not caring if water pours all over. I'll just clean it up afterwards, I promise.

I take one of those bowls with holes in it and pour the contents into it as carefully as I can. The pasta looks fine on it, which makes me sigh in relief. "Well, at least they're not burned." You can't burn pasta, right? I take the directions and read them again, following everything as explicitly as Cress has written. I take the time to admire his handwriting. It's written in this style that isn't quite cursive or in print, but very elegant in its own right, with some of the letters still being loopy. I'm kind of jealous.

After setting up the fifth plate, I'm able to establish a pretty nice routine and my nervousness stops. Okay, I can do something in the kitchen. Take that, dad!

"You're doing a great job so far, Bianca," Cress says as he's coming into my area of the kitchen. "I'm impressed." I turn over to flash Cress a nice big smile and that's when I notice the unevaporated water on the floor, but before I can say anything, Cress's moccasins make their way over it and his foot slides forward, taking the rest of his body down with it.

I yell louder than he does when he falls on his back. My first instinct is to go outside and summon whichever brother of his is closest, which happens to be Cilan. He runs into the kitchen and sees his brother still on the floor, wincing in pain. "Cress, are you all right?"

"My back really hurts."

"Let me help you up." Cilan reaches for his hand and Cress's foot gains some traction.

Both of them are now staring at me. I know what I did wrong. I forgot to clean up my mess and Cress paid for it. Why is it that whenever I start to feel confident, something kind of messes it up?

"I think it'd be better for you to set up with Chili and Cheren," Cilan softly says. I'm too embarrassed to even look Cress in the eye so I nod and quickly take my leave, watching out for the mini puddle in the center of the room.

* * *

><p>By the time I get to where both Chili and Cheren are, they're pretty much done and engaged in small talk. Cheren's legitimately interested in whatever it is that Chili has to say to him. "Hi," I say, sitting down by them.<p>

"Oh hey Bianca. We were just talking about how being a Gym Leader works," Cheren says. I'm not surprised he is.

"You look like you'd be a decent gym leader, Cheren. If training doesn't work out and you make enough of a name for yourself, I suggest you contact the League and see if a spot would open up. Of course, my brothers and I have no plans on slowing down. If I placed my bets, maybe Drayden 'cuz he's old and stuff. I mean, he's got a kid subbing for him quite a lot recently."

"I'll keep my options open, but sure." I can see the look in his eyes. If there's something I've known about Cheren for a really long time, it's that his ultimate goal is to become the champion. Being a Gym Leader is nothing really compared to it in his mind. Meanwhile, if I were granted such an esteemed position, I'd have trouble picking which type I'd like to use. I've already taking a liking to fire and psychic, but I don't think I'm suitable to be a specialist in those types. I've heard of cases where there have been more types in a gym, mostly the infamous Viridian City Gym when Giovanni unexpectedly left and former Kanto Champion Blue Oak came and replaced him. I think it was more of an extreme case being that Giovanni left all of a sudden and they needed backup, but Blue was their leader before he left to pursue his studies in Kalos. I'd love to run a Gym with my signature Pokémon being Ganon the mighty Emboar. It would be so cool to be known worldwide like that.

"Bianca? Bianca?" Chili says. "Earth to Bianca."

I come back from my deep thinking. "Sorry."

"She gets that way a lot," Cheren says.

"I was thinking about what type I'd use for a Gym and I can't really think of any."

"I'm sure you'd figure it out someday if it came down to it," Cheren says. "Don't worry about it. Just keep focusing on training."

"Yeah. I still want you to beat my brother. He needs to be taken down a notch or two. He grows more pretentious when he has a winning streak going." If only he knew that I kind of beat him. And by "beat him", I mean inadvertently injure him without any intention to.

The restaurant begins to fill up with people, mostly camera crews and personnel. Chili checks his watch.

"Oh man, it's fifteen to noon. We gotta go get the tea on each table."

"One more question, Chili," I ask him. I'm not really a question asking person so when I do, Cheren's interested in what I have to ask. I've forced him or White to ask people questions for me or have remained silent. "When do trainers start getting noticed by the League?"

"Ooh, that's a good question! Trainers start getting crews up when they hit their fourth or fifth badge. It depends on their charisma as a trainer and their Pokémon's performance. It isn't unheard of for trainers to start getting attention during their third outing, but they need to be _really_ something to have that kind of stock placed on them. Mostly because trainers give up around their third to fifth try."

"Hmm, I haven't thought of that question," Cheren says.

"Oh that reminds me, Cheren. Are you here in Striaton City to challenge us?"

"Perhaps."

"I haven't had the third starter battle yet so I'm looking forward to smoking you out!" With that, Chili runs off excitedly to greet the patrons while Cheren is left dumbstruck.

"He...He knew all along?"

"Don't look at me! I didn't say anything. I was with Cress in the kitchen." I begin laughing out loud, gathering some weird looks from the patrons, but I don't care. Cilan comes to collect us and gives us instructions on placing the tea on the tables.

It all goes well, actually and the trainer scheduled to undergo their final badge comes in. He's not a young looking trainer like I initially imaged. He's wearing a hat obscuring most of his dark hair, but his face is seasoned and with some wrinkles. He's got to be close to my dad's age. It isn't unheard of for older trainers to seek League battles. Cheren, the other staff, and myself all line up by the sides of the Gym to watch the introduction. We're supposed to serve the first course after the battle begins.

"State your name, stater, and number of Pokémon you plan to use for this battle."

"My name is Martell and I am a veteran of the Unovan Army. My starter was a Tynamo and I only plan on using two in this battle." There are loads of murmurs around the room.

"That's crazy," Cheren whispers low enough so that only I can hear.

"Crazy awesome," I finish for him. Seriously, this man is fearless.

"That rules me out," Cress says out loud almost immediately, backing away from the stage. "You two duke it out."

There's a TV host in the center of the room, explaining the odd setup of this gym.

"I'll do it. I haven't had a good challenge in quite some time. Bring it on!" Chili says with enthusiasm and hotheadedness while Cilan steps aside. I know its time to accompany the rest of the waiters and to begin distributing the pasta to attendees while the lights around the Gym darken except for the stage, symbolizing that all eyes must go up there as we all act like shadows. I go in and out of the kitchen as fast as I can on each time as Martell's Gigalith just stays in his place receiving Chili's attacks. Speaking of Chili, the Pokémon he is using is one I know pretty well: a Darmanitan, which is one of the most physically powerful Pokémon I am aware of.

I want to keep watching this spectacle, but I have to keep my word to the brothers and help them out the best I can. It isn't until I finish the section I was assigned that I can peacefully rest and watch the battle unfolding. That, and the how the camera crews react.

Martell is emotionless as he continues his battle with Chili, who is wild and sending out attacks in a stylish and all-too flashy manner.

"It is now round ten of the battle between Veteran Martell and Gym Leader Chili of Striaton City," the female reporter states. "Both Pokémon are weary. Gigalith has taken repeated damage from Darmanitan while Darmanitan's speed and power have been sapped due to the Sandstorm effect. Once Darmanitan is taken out, the Steal Rock effect will have taken place.

"Wait, so how many Pokémon does Chili plan to use?"

"He's being fair," a voice in the shadows next to me says. It's none other than Cress. I can't see him very clearly, but I recognize his calm voice. "He's also going two for two."

"Oh," I mumble, still feeling embarrassed about the incident in the kitchen.

"About the incident earlier in the kitchen..." I feel a tension ride through my back at the mention of it. "I forgive you for it. Accidents happen all too much in the kitchen. I don't think hospitality could be your strong suit. I mean this with little offense." Cress's voice is stern unwavering, yet sincere. "I look forward to your second challenge. Also..."

I can't see it very well, but there's a wad of cash on my hands.

"This is for helping us. I know I should pay you in the end, but you are a good person."

"AND DOWN GOES DARMANITAN!" The announcer yells over Chili's soft spoken words that prevent me from reacting.

"Let's go. It's time to serve the dessert course. By the way, your friend. I haven't seen him in a while. Chili's going to get the wrong idea."

Come to think of it. "Oh gosh. You're totally right!" Where did Cheren go?

"But we do not have time to search for him." I follow Cress into the kitchen with the other waiters. Cilan is already in there, having cut up different slices of Unovan cheesecake for the spectators. Meanwhile, I can hear some of the other waiters make bets among themselves. I am given a large plate meant for one table each and with that same plate, I am instructed to take the pasta plates and stack them up and come back by Cilan. It sounds easy enough.

When I come out, the first thing I notice is Chili's Simisear, who has the same exact look in his eyes as his trainers as well as their heads. I don't know if it is just me, but the Simisear and Chili both have their heads ignited like a raging inferno. I've heard that if a bond with a Pokémon and their trainers is truly strong, then they will emulate each other. It's not been proven, but it certainly leaves something to wonder.

"OH AND GIGALITH IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT!"

"Good job, you deserve a long nap," Martell says. "Eelektross, go!"

The audience gasps, including the announcer. "Eelektross! Eelektross is a rare, rare pure electric Pokémon type notable for not only its rarity, but its slow experience rate. As you know, electricity has relatively few weaknesses, the only known one being ground. What makes Eelektross so special is its ability, Levitate. Levitate assures itself to be completely immune to any ground attacks, thus rendering itself with no weaknesses. We'll only see what Chili has in store."

That Pokémon...it's so scary! Yet I can't help but look at it and I don't want to walk back to the kitchen, yet I have to. I'm just about done scooping out the pasta plates when I take my leave. I don't want to miss a single moment of this-

"Oof!" I fall on my side, taking the plates with me. They all make a splash noise directly to the side of me. I can hear the telltale sound of some of them breaking. I'm not injured, luckily and no one seems to have noticed.

"BIANCA!" Except for the person I crashed into.

"Cheren?"

"I'm so sorry!" He quickly reacts by stretching his arm down at me, which I quickly take. Cheren helps gather up the unaffected plates. "Go get me a broom. I'll help clean this up when you come back."

I go into the kitchen for a second time, collecting a broom and pail that I saw near the fridge. When I come back outside, I see Cheren not too far ahead standing by the broken plates. I quickly glance at the ongoing battle and see that nothing has changed and both Pokémon look raring to go. "Cheren where have you been this entire time?"

"I was in the audience. See, I was here to watch Chili battle, as you know and I figured I could watch a little and catch any battle strategies off him. Thing is, he's unpredictable. Also, I was seated next to White."

"White's here?"

"Yes, but she's in the back, which I don't think was assigned to you because she would have surely noticed you."

"And why did you bump into me?"

"Because I was starting to feel guilty about not putting any work effort. So now I want you to sit back and watch the end of the battle while I take on your job."

"Um...okay?" I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be doing that, but Cheren gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, something he does very rarely so I take it as a gesture of goodwill and look for White, whose indeed sitting in the back, yet has a decent view of the battle (I can't really see neither Chili, Martell, nor their Pokémon's faces, but their bodies are pretty distinct from the distance). We quickly hug and stay still. White even offers to share the cheesecake due to being too full.

Simisear is far more speedy than its opponent and when I look at the screen, showing their data, gender, and hp, they're both in the orange range.

"Both of them have used their full restores on them so its coming down to the final moments," White informs me as Simisear avoids the sandstorm that affects Eelektross more. When the Thunderbolt attack misses, I notice Martell loses his last bit of composure.

"Eelektross, use Crunch." The attack manages to hit Chili's Pokémon, but barely inflicts damage.

"SIMISEAR USE FIRE BLAST! NOW!" But Simisear doesn't move as swiftly as he once did. In fact, he's—

"It appears Simisear has flinched!" the announcer finishes my thought.

"Now use Thunderbolt one more time." It surrounds the now still Simisear, who takes in the attack and falls down when it is finished.

"OH IT IS A CRITICAL BLOW! SIMISEAR IS DOWN AND UNABLE TO BATTLE! OH WHAT A GLORIOUS BATTLE! WE SHALL SEE MARTELL CHALLENGE THE LEAGUE NOW!"

The audience roars in thunderous applause and Martell and his Pokémon give a curt nod before he calls him back. If Chili is disappointed, then it doesn't show at all, as he's quick to shake hands with the man and gives him a winning smile. He's just as gracious as Cress was when I lost to him yesterday.

"That was really awesome!" White says as the lights go back on and people take their leave. Her eyes instantly go up and down, observing my attire. "Whoa, look at you. So formal."

"Oh right. I'm supposed to go back into the kitchen. I'll see you later, White."

I hurry along and find Cheren washing the dishes as what I'm assuming is punishment for not being true to his word. He seems to be okay with it and is taking everything in stride. Chili walks into the kitchen like he owns the world and is met by a round of applause.

"Oh yeah!" Chili begins to hop around, flashing a smile at everyone. Then he does something I didn't quite expect. He pulls Cheren into a giant, bone-crushing bear hug. "I can't believe I've excited you so much that you saw the entire thing!" He kisses him on the cheek. Cheren stays still, completely unaware of what just transpired.

Cheren is totally confused but he plays along, his yellow gloves awkwardly hanging around Chili's neck in the air. It doesn't take him long to do the same gesture towards me. I'm surprised a really cute guy is willingly hugging me, but I react a bit warmer than Cheren does, embracing his warm body. He's sweating, but I ignore it. Chili makes his way back towards the door, still feeling pumped. "You and me," he points at Cheren then at himself, "we gotta do this soon. WHOO!"

And just like that, Chili leaves. Presumably to go heal his Pokémon. Cheren goes back to washing dishes in a stunned stupor.

I don't say anything at what just happened. "Oh boy. Chili's got quite the crush," I hear Cress murmur to Cilan. I gape at him and he notices. "He's totally got the hots for your friend, Bianca, pun intended."

I gape. "Chili? He's..." But I swore he was—

"Bi? Oh yeah. It's not a well kept secret. He says he wants to marry Flint and have his babies. He also says that about Malva, too, but I think he's scared of her," Cilan finishes.

"But totally turned on by that," Cress adds. I just nod my head many times, losing track of how many times I do it.

"Anyway, Bianca. I thank you for your service. You were an invaluable asset to our volunteer staff," Cilan says. "I am glad to have made new friends today and even though this grump won't say it out loud, so is he." And Cilan does something rather unexpected. He takes my hand and kisses it. Cress takes my other hand and repeats his brother's actions.

"I will see you soon," Cress says.

I smile wide at them, still in complete shock that I had not one, but three really cute guys take notice of me. I managed to try something new and even though I don't see myself cooking or being a waitress anytime soon, I found it fun.

I find White over at the front of the gym, talking to a still overexcited Chili. I sit down on the steps and summon Ganon. I'm sure he's eager to get out of the ball and eat a snack. Speaking of snacks, I remember that Cress already paid me for my work. I take out the money that he gave me and begin counting.

It's the exact amount I had just given to him yesterday.

"Come on, little one, let's go and get some training done." I scoop him up in my arms and away we go.

**Please do leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

_**"My heroes have the heart, to the lose the life I'd want to live, And all I remember, is thinking 'I want to be like them', Ever since I was little, Ever since I was little it looked like fun"** **- Crazy by Gnarls Barkley**_

Yesterday was so exhausting, yet I was lucky that Cheren wasn't going to pressure me on taking me to school. Instead, he saw fit to challenge Chili. If Cheren noticed anything but Chili's crush on him, then he was oblivious to it. Either that or he was ignoring it. I know Cheren and as perceptive as he'd like to claim he is, he's the kind of person who has a one-track mind. Didn't mean I didn't love him any less as my best friend.

Meanwhile I figured I need to catch up and start grinding. Namely, Courage, who was still a bit nervous over battling and nervous in general. I'm nervous too, because I don't have the same instant rhythm with him as I do with Ganon. I find myself wandering over to the fountains and close to a building ahead. Upon closer sight, its actually two buildings. One of them have Pokémon outside, running around. The other has small children in hard hats doing the same.

There's identical twin girls standing in front of the buildings. "Ooh! Another trainer!" One of them says.

"Miss Trainer, we'd like to challenge you to a double battle!"

My first experience with a double battle goes surprisingly well, with Ganon curbstomping the little girls' pair of Purrloins. Courage doesn't do much but send some decent attacks and paralyzes the one on the left with his Lick.

"Wow Miss Trainer. You're really good!"

"Oh," I flick my hand. "I'm really not." I don't even have a single Gym Badge to my name. I notice I have attracted a small (literally!) crowd, including an adult or two.

A brunette woman wearing a yellow vest comes up to me. She looks only a couple of years older than myself. Early twenties? "I'd like to have a battle too. My name's Autumn. I'm one of the aides here."

"Well, uh sure! I'm Bianca, by the way."

I lead in with Courage and he barely manages to take down her Lillipup, but he manages. Second is a Munna and I send out Madge to go and get her. Madge gets a bit tired before taking out the Munna that wasn't mine, so I send out Munny, who finishes the job.

All of the kids around me cheer when I win, some asking me for autographs. I'm handed a pen seemingly out of nowhere and I begin signing notebooks with my name.

"Oh tell us a story, Miss Bianca!"

"If she does, can she do it indoors?" Autumn asks, touching her hair. I notice she's really pretty actually. Glowing, too. I wonder if its the environment of being around children. Truth be told, I love children. They're so young and sweet and innocent. I wonder what it could be like as a teacher.

"Of course!" I walk in and sit in a pink beanbag chair not too dissimilar to the one in my room in Nuvema. I don't know why, but I don't get a twinge of homesickness when I sit down.

"Read us this one!" one of the kids says, pulling a story with a Patrat on the cover named _The Happy Patrat_.

"No! Read us this one!" another kid pulls s considerably larger book with Unova's dragons on the cover. The look far too menacing to be on a children's book cover.

"This one!" a little girl furiously throws a book with a drawing of Victini. Then they all start arguing among each other. I freeze, not knowing how to handle this. If I choose the story with Patrat, a group of kids will be disappointed at me. The same with Victini or the one with Reshiram and Zekrom. I don't want to disappoint anyone!

"_Children_!" Autumn's loud, but stern voice rings in over the children's yelling. I'm amazed at how she manages to capture their attention without yelling. "I think that our guest Bianca should have a say in what we shall do."

I freeze once more and gulp. "Um. Um. I don't want to make anyone mad."

"We're sorry, Miss Bianca," one of them says. The others start murmuring the same thing.

I honestly don't know. Either I can read all three of the books or read none of them. I don't really want to read a story out loud. Mostly because I don't like hearing the sound of my voice and I don't know if I can pull off changing the tone of it. I mean, you never know until you try, but I don't want to displease anyone, too.

"Can we have playtime instead? You can all meet my Pokémon. I'm sure they'd love to meet you." Actually, I'm not completely sure, but they're all small enough for kids to adore, especially considering they're rather kid friendly. I saw a Tepig plushie in the toybox when I first walked in so why not?

I frisk inside my bag, not knowing which ball I've got a hold on. When I throw the ball to the ground, Ganon is the one who is summoned. He's stunned for a moment to see all of the children's faces but quickly gives a happy squeal, allowing himself to be touched by a little girl with blonde pigtails under her hard hat.

The second out is Madge and I think it's in a Lillipup's natural nature to take well to children because she's still as the children caress her.

"She's just like Miss Autumn's!" one of the children, a boy, I believe, says.

The third to be out is Munny, who is a bit overwhelmed at first, but takes well. Courage, of course decides to perch upon my shoulder for a few minutes, but when Ganon turns back and gives him a call, Courage comes down and joins him, eventually enjoying their petting.

"Miss Bianca!" a little girl says. He's holding Madge, who is as calm as ever. "If you're sharing your Pokémon, can I share my Blitzle with you?"

I look at Autumn, who is giving a radiant smile. "I'm glad you're using your sharing lessons. Is that okay Miss Bianca?"

"Yes! That's totally fine!" And in seconds, this mid-size zebra-like Pokémon is within sight.

"Blitz?" it says. "Zel?" I slowly bring my hand up to it and begin petting its mane. At first, I feel a slight shock, but that's to be expected in an electric type. It reacts well to the touch of my hand and when I move up from its mane to its head, it begins to move in a manner, as though directing me to pet it in a specific spot.

"Hey Miss Bianca," a little boy approaches me. "Will you be our new teacher?"

"Uhhh," is all I can muster. "I don't know. I'm currently trying my hand at training but maybe one day I might try my hand at teaching."

"It's good to see you're trying different perspectives. When you do that, your sense of reality changes and you grow as a person," he responds.

Before I can process that alarmingly deep statement he's made, he's given Ganon to hold and walks away from the group. Then a second kid shows up while I'm idly petting Blitzle.

"Miss Bianca...I have a question," a little pink haired girl asks me. "My favorite socks broke the other day and I was really sad so mommy decided to patch it. What I want to know if it's still the same sock."

"Well...yes? I think." These children!

"So if a sock keeps ripping and new patches are still being made except for a little bit, then is it the same sock? Or is it a new one?"

"Where do you get these thoughts?!"

"I don't know," the little girl shrugs. "They just happen."

So is this a gifted preschool? It would make sense if they were given Pokémon so early and had battles.

"Miss Bianca, can your Tepig use Hyper Beam?" a little boy asks me. I shake my head. That makes me wonder. They're unbelievably precocious. I wonder if I was that way when I was their age. Cheren was inquisitive and fussy while White was always active and dragging me into her troubles. I was always in time out due to association. Predictably so, I spent each time crying.

Then I hear a scream coming from outside. "NO! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED HERE!" The class goes silent. Then the door violently bursts open and two redheaded men in knight's clothing come in, giving us all glares.

"Team Plasma," I gasp, barely reacting.

"Pokémon and people should be separated. It is important for Team Plasma's message for Pokémon liberation to be reached through the youngest of minds."

"No!" I stand up, not petting the Blitzle anymore. I can hear Ganon snarling and Munny performing similar actions while Courage is shaking. I can't see Madge among the kids.

"It is important for children to learn friendship and bonding," Autumn says, joining my side.

"Then we shall teach you the hard way, you disgusting trainer." The man on the left takes one giant step in front of me and Autumn. "Out of my way." And the next thing I know, a pair of hands are on my shoulders. Their push makes gravity pull on me, my left side falling straight into the ground. Before I can get up, I see the Blitzle I petted being whisked away.

Its owner lets out a piercing scream and I can see the other little kids grasping their hands on their ears. "BLITZY!" The little girl's first instinct is to run away from her classroom, not caring that she's not going to be chaperoned. I quickly get up and follow her.

The little girl is surprisingly fast, either that or I'm out of shape. Yet I catch up to her in the middle of the route before she collapses into sobs. "NOO! My Blitzy! He's gone forever!" Or at least I think she's saying that because she's screaming and sobbing all at once.

"Sweetie, it'll be all right. We can contact the police and-"

"BLITZY!" The girl is inconsolable and then my thoughts begin to formulate. This is my fault. Had I decided to read the stories, I wouldn't have prompted this and indirectly caused this traumatizing moment on this little girl. Tears begin to form on my face and they fall down violently. The little girl latches onto me and I to her and we share each other's pain.

"Bianca?" White's voice says. She's with Cheren standing at the beginning of the route. "Oh my gods! Bianca! What happened?"

I wipe off some of the tears. "This girl's Pokémon was stolen by Team Plasma."

"Them again?" Is White's first reaction.

"Wait, I thought they were weird but they're resorting to illegal activity?" Cheren says. "That not right."

"The hell it is!" White interjects.

"Little girl," Cheren begins, "did you see in which direction the bad guys went?"

The girl sniffles very loudly and weakly points straight towards the direction of a cave.

"Don't worry. We'll get your Pokémon," White tells her. "C'mon Cheren." And both of them disappear.

While we wait, Autumn and the little girl's classmates join us, both comforting the girl and anticipating White and Cheren's return. "Don't worry, you guys. White and Cheren are my best friends and really good trainers. They'll get the Pokémon back." They're all silent in a mixture of sadness and anticipation as they face the cave's direction. I take the time to recall my Pokémon one by one. Autumn tells me she called the police through her Xtransceiver.

Each minute feels extremely slow and the little girl's tears come back every other minute. It brings me to tears, too.

Then a fuzzy image comes from the cave's directions. I can't tell if its Cheren, White, or Team Plasma. There's some blue but it could be black. The little girl begins to scream again. "BLITZY!" The figure becomes progressively clearer and I notice that it is indeed Cheren, walking with a beleaguered Blitzle on his side. The little girl embraces it and the other little kids follow.

White shows up, with police forces behind her. "Hey everyone. The bad guys are going to be thrown in jail. I'm going to make sure that this won't happen again. I promise!" All of the little kids surround White and attack her with hugs. She reacts rather awkwardly. Cheren's just watching from afar, but the little kids get to him too, and he reacts in an even more hilarious manner. Then I realize I've overstayed my welcome.

"I think I should go train," I tell Autumn. I feel terrible for letting a children get scarred on my watch.

"Hey Bianca. Please don't blame yourself. Things happen all of the time. I don't think this is your fault. In fact, you reacted bravely and helped my students."

Some of the kids now approach me. "Thank you!" they say to me.

"You're welcome. I have to go back to my job and keep training my Pokémon!"

"We had fun, Bianca!"

"Yeah!"

"Please come back one day when your Pokémon are all grown up." I get some warm hugs, instantly feeling better. I don't think these children blame me for what happened. They've blamed Plasma. Someone needs to take them back a peg or two.

"Bye!" And I take my leave back to Striaton.

"Wait for me!" Cheren and White say and tag along with me.

"Wait so how did you end up in this situation?" Cheren asks.

"Well..." Was this successful? Maybe not. Did I have fun? Yes. I'm better with kids than White and Cheren from what I've seen but having to deal with them at once and facing something like that again was terrifying! I like it, but I don't think this is for me. Either way, I'm glad I was able to help and serve as a role model.

**Please review! I'd love to hear your opinion on this!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

_**"Now I'm holding on, m**__**yself was never enough for me, g**__**otta be so strong. **__**There's a power in what you do, n**__**ow every other day I'll be watching you"- Outside by Calvin Harris Ft Ellie Goulding**_

"I, Trainer Bianca, challenge you, Cress to a rematch!" I yell at Cress as dramatically as I can. There's a small audience of the people I worked with the other day as well as Chili and Cilan watching the spectacle I created.

"Lillipup go!" Cress says.

"Ganon, you're out!" The two Pokémon stare at each other.

"Lillipup, Work Up!"

"Ganon use Flame Charge!" Flame Charge was the most recent attack he's learned and the expected result I wanted to see happen totally happened: Cress's Lillipup is now burned. The damage was already substantial and the Lillipup doesn't attack Ganon with the force he once did with his Take Down. The last time I battled Cress, I got one shotted. This time, I'm the one calling the shots.

Wow, how corny of me. Oh well.

"Use Flame Charge again!" This time the attack misses, but Lillipup's burn intensifies. When he faints, I hear Chili's cheering for the power of fire.

"Good job, Lillipup. I've seen you've improved, Bianca. Panpour, you're up," he states casually.

But before I summon back Gannon, a little spark rises from his side. Then a second one. The two sparks appear to clone themselves and soon dozens of them surround him and he's surrounded by them.

"He's evolving!" Cress, Chili, and Cilan all say at the same time.

When the lights leave Ganon, a new Ganon is shown. He's about a foot taller and his dark spot now has grown, resembling a wrestler. Golden straps are etched on him and his tail is now fluffy and black. I'm about to break down crying from this beautiful, special moment, but instead, I get a Ping! from my Xtransceiver app.

"Congratulations! Your Tepig is now a Pignite. He has gained a new type and has learned Arm Thrust, a fighting move," I read out loud. Sweet! I throw one hand in the air with my fist clenched.

"Ganon, come back. You've done fantastic! Courage, come out!" Courage isn't afraid of the Panpour. The creature is a bit different than Cress when I get a proper look at it. Last time I was so nervous that I didn't notice how different both Cress and Panpour look.

"Work up," Cress orders.

Again? "Use Fury Swipes!" The attack does a decent amount of damage. Anyway, as I was thinking earlier. Panpour is so happy and smiley while Cress is stoic. While Chili and Pansear and his Simisear both resembled one another, Cress and Panpour look the complete opposite, yet have total synchronization. I'm going to have to look this up one day on Pokémon-Trainer relationships.

"Another Work Up!"

REALLY? "Courage, another set of Fury Swipes." I know what I'm going to do. Cheren's given me a small, but essential piece of information: Chili used a potion on his Pokémon when they were too low in health. If I attacked with a substantial amount of damage, they'd get powerful. But wait, Bianca, I can keep spamming Vine Whip. No, I can't. I can't afford a Potion so this somewhat risky strategy has to be applied. I'm pretty sure Courage can take the hit. He's strong enough and I trust him.

"Take Down!" Courage anticipates the doubly charged attack and sidesteps at the last second, missing the entire attack.

"HOLY GIRATINA!" I hear Chili scream.

"Okay," my breathing become shallow as I hear triumphant music play from the speakers. When I glance, I see that it's Cilan who has played the music. I recognize it. It's the one they play in League battles as well as stadium ones. It's jokingly called the main Pokémon theme. It brings me back to the earth and my breathing back. "Use Vine Whip!"

The vines encapsulates the Panpour and takes him down. He doesn't get up after that.

"Oh my gosh. Is that it? He is down?"

"It appears so," Cress says. "Good job! I'm glad you've improved."

I'm then given a pink case for my future Badges and triumphantly leave the Gym, and soon after, the city.

Striaton, it was nice, but I gotta go onto a new city!

* * *

><p>Nacrene isn't nearly as appealing to me as Striaton is. I'm not into the warehouse look at all. I like the classic style of Striaton much more than this. Luckily, though, I've got a nice plan settled because I want to reach Castelia and stay for a week or two. I notice that White's in town, but she's busy grinding because Cheren went and challenged Lenora and promptly lost.<p>

I meet up with Cheren and White at Café Warehouse. Both of their starters are unevolved. The three of them are talking among themselves as we interact.

"Wow, you must have trained him really hard," White says.

"You've got a serious advantage against Lenora," Cheren says, sipping some tea. "She's using normal types. I think with your Pignite, he alone can take them down. Her Herdier KO'ed my Snivy with a Bite attack."

"Damn," White says. "I'll watch for that." Her face lights up as she's remembering something. "By the way, I ran into that N guy again when I reached here."

"Really?" Cheren says. "Did you tell him off about what he said back in Accumula?"

"Did you tell him about cute he is?"

"Bianca! You don't even know what he looks like!"

"I'm sorry, but you've brought him up a few too many times."

"Since when? I've only brought him up four times!"

"Totally crushing. I can tell!" I tease her. White crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

"Well, what I was gonna say before you two goons interrupted me was that he's obsessed with the future. Says he's going to summon a legendary dragon or whatever to like, I don't know, save the Pokémon. It's kind of noble, but totally out there. You know?"

"So he's complicated?" Cheren says, though "complicated" isn't a word I'd use.

"Yeah. Exactly it. I wonder when I'll see him again though. He's not exactly charming. More like socially awkward times ten. No. Up to eleven. He makes you two look like pros."

"Hey!" Cheren says, clearly offended.

"I'm joking, geez. You two make jokes. Am I not allowed to?"

"So uh guys. We're close to Castelia. Any plans?" I quickly say, trying to diffuse the situation. It's kind of hard being the emotional center sometimes.

"I plan on training some more," Cheren says, giving the predictable answer.

"I plan on...I don't know," White says. "Just gonna see what happens." I internally sigh, glad to see that's a crisis averted. "I think for now, we should grind."

"Good plan," Cheren says.

"I'm in. Right, Ganon?" He gives me a dismissive grunt. "Yeah!"

* * *

><p>So according to the apps on my Xtransceiver, Ganon's at level nineteen and Madge, now a Herdier (and my backup) is at a solid level sixteen after three uneventful days of training. I've decided not to use Courage for this fight and Munny isn't quite ready for a Gym battle at this moment. Also, I know the Watchog's Crunch could mess her up according to what Cheren told me from what he heard other trainers say.<p>

"So it looks like I'm going to do this today, right?" I ask White and Cheren, who are hanging around the Pokémon Center's rooms.

"I think you're ready. I know Lenora's tough, but that's because I'm not properly equipped," Cheren says. His Snivy evolved just yesterday, joining Ganon in the once evolved club.

"Same here. Marth the Oshawott is very close to evolving, though. He doesn't develop a secondary type, though," White says.

"Anyway, we're here to cheer for you, okay?"

"Well, okay then." I guess I'm ready.

I'm confused when we make our way to the Gym. It isn't a Gym, though. It's a museum.

"Uhhh," I begin.

"Welcome to Nacrene's Museum of History and Science!" a perky receptionist greets us. There's two of them. The one who greets us sits on the left side of the entrance as the one on the right is busy.

"I thought this was the Gym," White says.

"It's in the-" Cheren begins but is interrupted.

"Oh but it is! It's right around the back. I'm sorry, but only one trainer at the time. It's a library so I'm not allowed to bring more than one trainer. Would create noise. Might telling me whoever is competing for their name and info?"

"Oh, uh. My name is Bianca Bel and this is my second Gym Leader battle. I'm using two Pokémon for this battle."

"Great. You can go in the back where Lenora will wait for you."

"Good luck, Bianca!" White gives me a hug.

"You know what to do," Cheren says. "You can do it."

I give them a small smile. I'm glad they put so much faith in me when I don't know if I should. I know that's disconcerting, but it's sadly true.

This Gym is not what I expect. While Striaton's was straightforward and asked simple questions about strengths and weaknesses, this one is a scavenger hunt. Worse yet, I have a half hour time limit. Lenora did make things only slightly easier by adding strategically placed stepping ladders. Her claim is that trainers need to not only depend on strength, but intelligence as well.

Well, that's not optimistic.

I finish the scavenger hunt with seven minutes left on the timer when one of the bookcases moves towards the wall with the press of the button. I go downstairs.

Lenora's sitting in a large swivel chair in what seems like an office. It's kind of dark, with lamps adorned on the side. She's beautiful, her bright blue eyes meeting mine, they stand out so much with her dark complexion. She's much taller than myself and has a commanding presence that at the same time seems kind of friendly. "Good to see you made it, Bianca. Most trainers have trouble with the scavenger hunt on their first few tries. My name is Lenora and I specialize in Normal Types. People oftentimes underestimate this type due to it not having any super-effectiveness but they don't see the logic behind this. Now let's battle!"

"Okay!"

"Oh you're not nervous, are you honey?" I don't know if she's being soothing or taunting, but either way I'm going to be honest.

"Of course I am! Go Ganon!"

"Well then. Go Herdier!"

"Ganon, use the power of your arm!" Ganon acts on my words as quickly as possible.

"Herdier, Leer!"

As Ganon attacks the Herdier, it gives it a glare which lowers its defenses. It doesn't matter because Ganon has viciously overpowered the Herdier, taking it down on the first try. I try to not let my elation overwhelm me.

"Good job, Herdier. Go Watchog!" Here it comes.

"Watchog! Hog!" A taller version of a Patrat is shown. He's got very large red eyes and bright yellow strips of fur. I think it's supposed to be generally used for practical purposes. I've seen it around construction sites helping the workers with safety measures.

"Ganon, use Arm Thrust once more!"

"Retaliate!" The attack isn't what I was expecting. Ganon gets hit hard. Watchog is also hit quite hard, but isn't down for the count like I wanted him to be. "You fell into my little trap," Lenora says proudly. I give her a marginally confused look and Lenora's pride goes slightly away. "Retaliate: an attack in which a Pokémon uses to inflict double damage if a teammate fainted on the last turn."

Ooooh.

So Herdier was a meat shield for her in other words. Cheren didn't tell me this. Probably because he didn't make it this far.

"Do your thing again, Ganon! Quick!"

"Use Hypnosis!"

But before Ganon can do anything, Watchog's eyes began to glow. Ganon stops in his tracks and falls down. He's still breathing but he's...

"Oh no! Wake up! Wake up!" Desperation begins to creep in. I have Madge and only Madge, but I don't know if she can take this one down on her own. "Ganon! Please!"

"Crunch!" It doesn't do much damage to him, but if he keeps sleeping, it sure will.

"Wake up!" It does the same attack. If he doesn't wake up now, then he's going to be unable to fight."Ganon, I know you want this as much I do. I'll feed you half a dozen Castelia Cones with this." It seems as though he's finally woken up! "Oh my gosh!" Goosebumps scatter around my skin, from my neck to my arms. "Arm Thrust! Do it before she makes you pass out again, my love! Do it and all the Castelia Cones for you, my beautiful life partner whom I love so much!"

I know I went overboard but that triumphant music Cilan played for me that day I won my Badge is playing in my head like some random background music. It pumps me up. And with that, Ganon gives the final blow.

"Yes! ALL the Castelia cones for you!" Ganon runs over to my side and I bend down, giving him a warm hug.

"Good job. Although you won in a way I don't necessarily like, I still admire your tenacity and your love for your Pignite. Good luck with the rest of your Gym Battles. You'll need it if you expect to keep going like this."

I barely register any of what she has to say and instead I take the Basic Badge and run off with Ganon. We both tackle White and Cheren, not caring if we've made too much noise at the museum. Two down, six to go! I can do this!

**Review please! They are the lifeblood that keeps me pumped up!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

_**"Baby, can't you see, I'm calling? A guy like you should wear a warning. It's dangerous, I'm fallin'" —Toxic by Britney Spears**_

I've been told to go to Skyarrow around sunset, which happens to be around eight o'clock at night here during the summer, and boy, they were right. I can't see much because what I think is smog, but the view on the city is stunning. The idea of it having so much to do and so many possibilities is exciting. I let out all four of my lovelies so that they can share my excitement.

"So this is Castelia, you guys. Who knows what we can find here. Friends? Cute guys? A romance? Another Gym Badge? Castelia Cones?"

Ganon snorts at that last one.

"Of course."

"If you guys wanna do something here, please do tell me, okay?"

The sun is still visible, but very weak. I love how it's orange and the rest of the sky is varying shades of pink and reds. I love the color orange, along with white and green. It's my absolute favorite favorite color because it just represents the brightness and positivity of things in life. To watch it lead over the other colors is even more amazing.

"Today's been amazing. I just wonder how long I'll have to wait to see White and Cheren." I stop at the midpoint and face west. The rest of my darlings stop alongside me. Courage climbs to his familiar spot on my shoulder and I hold Munny on my arms. Madge and Ganon watch from their angle through the railings. Experiencing this epic sunset with my darlings has been one of the highest points of my journey.

This is one of those moments in which I have no regrets over telling dad off. I'm seeing the world at its purest. Sure, I've experienced some things I'd rather not, but it makes me realize how real everything is. I don't need to be protected. I need to see things happen. Even though I can't figure out what I want in my life. I feel sure that I'm going to figure it out sometime in this journey. It's what I'm fighting for.

It happens so quickly. The sun just drops into the horizon like inserting a coin inside a slot machine. All that's left are the remaining reds and pinks of the sky. When I turn back, shades of navy and purple are threatening to mix into the sun's glows.

"Come on, guys. I need to go check into the center and get us all dinner." I call them all one by one.

* * *

><p>The Castelia gate's guard gives me a nice map of Castelia so that I wouldn't get lost. I'm pretty good with maps, so I'll study it tonight (which is good because I'm terrible with direction). She also gives me a complimentary Leaf Stone for Courage to evolve someday as a commemoration of my first time as a trainer in Castelia City, which I don't plan on using immediately. It gives me a spring in my step as I look for the Pokémon Center.<p>

I'm not surprised to see the Center is bustling with trainers everywhere. I've been told that in Castelia and Nimbasa, I would most likely share a room with another trainer. I'm kind of disappointed that it won't be White, but that's okay. I'll see her eventually in this city.

"You'll be staying in room 201," the nurse says after healing my Pokémon. "How long do you plan on staying here?"

"Maybe a week or two? I'm not sure. I'll tell you when I do know."

"Okay. Thank you for informing me. Castelia's a popular destination for trainers. You are in the girls' floor and will have a roommate. She's another blonde girl. Well, technically, her hair is white."

I don't know how I could do with a roommate, but I'm not really ever going to be there.

When I walk in the room, there's a petite and small framed girl sitting in there, strumming a star shaped guitar. She's wearing an oversized pink and blue striped shirt with light blue tights. Her white hair is long, but placed in a ponytail much higher than White's usual one.

"Yo. I was wondering when they were gonna stick me with a roommate. The name's Roxie." She stays in her bed in her relaxed position.

"I'm Bianca. Pleased to meet you." I extend my hand, but she doesn't take it. Instead, she strums on her guitar some more.

I take the time to look at my surroundings. It's a slightly larger room than what I'm used to. Roxie's taken the room by the window, which overlooks the sea. I'm fine with that. There's not room for much else. Then a thought I don't like pops up: showers. I shudder, figuring I'll have to wait till later.

Well, I should go find food.

"Hey, where are you going?" Roxie asks when I take my leave.

"I'm going out for dinner."

"I'm going with you." She sets her guitar down and places it in a worn down black case full of stickers. She's an odd one, that's for sure.

"You are?" I ask.

"Well, duh, I'm not going by myself," she says. I just go with it as she springs up from her bed.

"So uh, do you know any good places?" I ask her once we're outside the center. The silence between us is really awkward.

"Sure, what do you want?"

"I'd like some coffee." It would be my third of the day, not like I'm counting.

"At this hour?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I know this café on Narrow Street. It's pretty sweet, though the music could be better. The food's okay, but pretty cheap. Castelia's prices are insane! Like seriously, it's such a crappy place to get your first Gym Badge from."

Narrow Street...is not a pretty street. In fact, it looks like an alleyway upon second thought. So far, Castelia has been mysterious and inviting, but there's nothing but big dumpsters here in this street. It does take away some of the mystery.

"Ah, here it is!" Roxie and I enter this small-ish café with red walls painted from the sides. From where we enter is glass (though I'm not a fan of the view) and on the other side is a stage. There's a bar by the stage, but I'm too young to order most of the drinks. Not like I'd want to, anyway. Sort of. Maybe.

Roxie and I sit in the far side away from the bar, but in the waypoint between the stage and the exit.

"Hi, I'll be your server today. Are you a trainer, miss?" she asks me.

"Uh, yes?"

"May I see your trainer ID? We give trainers free lemonades the first time they come here."

"That's really nice! I'd like lemonade and some coffee."

"I'll have a soda pop," Roxie says. The waitress leaves and we're left to talk. "So Bianca...What's with you. What's your story?"

"Story?"

"Yeah. Everyone's got a story." She's a direct one, isn't she? Her light blue eyes meet my own.

"I'm from Nuevma Town. I'm going for my third Gym Badge. I don't really know what I want to do with my life, but I'm trying to figure it out." I'm terrible at describing myself and my life.

"You and I both know there's more to that, but if that's all you'll say, that's totally fine by me. I'm from Viribank, but they have no Gym across the water over there so I'm on the Castelia Route. I had to get my dad to ride me here on the ferry. He's sweet, but super dorky and a total doofus." She rolls her eyes at the mention of her father.

"I guess that means I'm on the Striaton Route." I notice Roxie's hands tapping on the table in sync.

"Cool, that's my third Gym. Gonna be a bitch to get back from there to here, but I think I'll have Fly by then. I have to stop by Juniper's home."

"Oh really! That's in the town I'm from."

"Cool." There's a pause and she's clearly thinking. "I didn't really meet her. Some old guy came in her stead and gave me Vinny, my Venipede. I know it isn't one of the usual Unova Starters, but I wanna prove them all wrong so I requested her. "

"I have a Pignite."

Roxie nods her head. "Righteous. I wouldn't peg you to start with one."

"I started with Tepig, actually."

"That's not what I mean," she waves her hand casually. "Fire. That's what I mean. You look like a grass starter type." I want to burst out laughing at that one. Me with a Snivy would be hilarious. Maybe it's because it seems to suit Cheren more at this point in my journey. The waitress comes in with my coffee and lemonade and Roxie's soda pop and takes our orders. She gulps it down pretty fast while I make even smaller talk. "I don't want to seem rude or anything, but, I want to play my guitar right now. I think I'm going to go onstage. It's calling me to rock on!"

"Go for it." I still think she's an odd one, but totally harmless. Intimidating, but harmless. As Roxie decides to sit on the stage, the café begins to fill out. There's lots of people in suits coming in and some in lab coats. I forget that Castelia is the business and science hub of Unova. As I sip on my coffee, I make a mental map of how I plan the rest of the night: eat, go get Ganon and the others Castelia Cones and berries, watch TV, maybe phone mom, and wait till the middle of the night to shower. I think that's a decent plan. Yeah, and tomorrow—

"Pardon me, but is this seat taken?" A voice asks me, taking me out of my reverie.

"Huh?" I look back and a pair of golden eyes behind large horn-rimmed glasses meets my green ones.

"I apologize. This restaurant gets particularly crowded at this hour and I don't want to sit by myself at the bar. Kind of a sad place to sit, if I'm being honest." I don't know where my mind is as it tries to analyze both him and what he's saying... I can't tell where his mind is either.

"My uh, roommate is sitting there," I point to the chair right next to my own, "but the other two chairs are free. Uh...Feel free to join!" He pulls a chair for himself. He's kind of really cute actually. Much, _much_ cuter than most boys I've seen on my journey so far and much more mature looking than the others with freshly cut, tidy blonde hair and an angular, pointed face. I'm actually feeling kind of fluttery right now and I'm involuntarily smiling. Instant crush alert! Oh gosh! I should totally control myself. Come on, Bianca, you can do it! You've survived speaking to cute boys before! Right? That's how you got through Striaton City unscathed, right? I consciously get rid of the smile plastered on my face.

"I should make this less awkward for the both of us. I'm Colress."

"I'm Bianca." I extend my right hand and he the other. Whoops! I put my hand back and go for the other as he does so at the same time. After a few blurbs, our hands meet. His touch is electrifying and I feel the hairs on the nape of my neck rising for the second time today. I avoid his golden gaze and look down on his clothes. He's wearing a plain black shirt under a lab coat. Maybe he's part of the science hub.

"Are you a trainer?" he asks me before I ask him a question of my own.

"Yes," I answer. "Are you a scientist?"

His face falls. "I wish. I'm a student at Castelia University. I'm not close to finishing my research quite yet and it seems like I won't."

"I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better, I couldn't even get into Castelia U." Oh my gosh. Did I really just tell a random stranger this? Something I can't even tell White, who happens to be my best friend, with a straight face?

"My sympathies," he says simply. "It doesn't really make me feel better, but I appreciate the sentiment, Bianca." My insides get fluttery again when he says my name. Calm down, Bianca. Calm yourself down. He probably has some hot scientist girlfriend like Fennel or something. Wait. Fennel! Grrr. Why can't I be both pretty and smart like her? "You know, I never got to go on a journey. I was more interested in science. I got into school and have been working on it ever since. I do wonder what Unova looks like beyond this city."

"Well, that's why I'm traveling. I want to see the world. I've never even been to Castelia until earlier this evening. It's so fascinating!"

"I'm glad you like it. It's quite a splendid city." There's a lull in our conversation, but he's quick to fill it up. "I figured you're not from here. I would have surely recognized a face like yours had you been." Is that a compliment? It makes me go silent once more.

"Oh hello, there. May I take your order?" the waitress asks Colress.

"Why yes. I would like a glass of water, please. Thank you."

"I'd like a sub, please."

"_Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison,_" I hear Roxie sing on stage. Her speaking voice is crude, but her singing voice is airy, yet enticing. I wouldn't expect that.

Colress notices I'm looking over at Roxie. "Interesting."

"She's my roommate over at the Center. Truth be told, I actually just met her tonight, too. I think she's a musician, as well as a trainer?" That comes out as more of a question.

"So what do you do, Bianca?" Colress asks, uninterested in what I have to say about Roxie. Unfortunately, it's the one question I have trouble answering.

"Um. I'm not quite sure, actually. That's kind of why I'm out training. I'm also seeing if there's anything that strikes me as worthy of my future."

Colress adjusts himself as his water is given to him. "That's perfectly understandable. What have you done during your journey?"

I feel blush coming on. "Um. I've done some catering work. Cooking. Um. Teaching stuff with kids. None of these are really for me, though they were all kinda fun. So what do you do at Castelia U?"

"Me?" I nod. There's no one else I'm referring to. "Well, I've studied on the subject of theory of power. Scientist and professor candidates choose a thesis of their liking and work all over Unova. My thesis is strength and power of Pokémon and how it can be controlled, or rather, correlated with their trainers. Some people claim it is through bonds where Pokémon acquire strength. Some claim it is through effort values. Some say it depends on a Pokémon's nature and others say it has to do with a trainer. When it comes towards all of these differing theories, I disagree," he says with a firmness I haven't even seen scientists like Fennel or Juniper with.

"So what do you think?"

"I think they're all the same, potentially speaking, they start through gaining levels and experience through proper training. Science, of course, plays a role and being biologically predisposed along with their general habitat. I think certain Pokémon are have the ability to self-regulate and make their powers grow more than others and therefore have the strength we humans vie for yet cannot reach on our own." He continues talking and there's parts of it I can't understand and I don't think I get his entire argument. "I strongly believe that Pokémon with no binary disposition have a stronger chance of living much longer and ultimately achieving what could be the ultimate strength."

"So like genderless Pokémon?" I'm totally guessing here.

"Precisely." I don't think it works that way, but it's his argument and he's very obviously invested in it. It's something I can respect (and has nothing to do with the fact that he's really hot and totally my type. Nope.). "My problem is that not very many people think along the same lines I do," he says, almost reading my mind. "And therefore, I do not receive the funding I desire. One of my professors has tried to sponsor me and tout off me to research facilities, but none have accepted his promotion. I've lost hope."

I really feel sorry for this guy. If I were a bolder person, I'd take his hand and squeeze it in reassurance. But I'm not. Instead, I just sit silently to myself, wondering how two complete strangers have poured to each other in just minutes. Maybe it's the promise of not seeing him again. Maybe it's attraction. Thing is, I want to see him again. And again. His personality is something I've never seen before.

"I have an idea."

Colress' face shoots up, his eyes meeting mine. "Yes? I'd like to hear it very much."

"Have you ever owned a Pokémon before?"

"Me? Own a Pokémon?" he says to himself more than me. "Why, no, I haven't."

"Maybe you should have your own Pokémon of your choice and study it. See what makes it strong. It'll be you training it and you battling with it. What better way than for you to do it on your own?"

Colress is completely silent, his face stoic, but his mind active as he stares blankly into space. "That...is not a bad idea, Bianca."

"Maybe that's what you just need?" He reverts back into his mind.

"I never owned a Pokemon because I never really had the time for one. I would have been a rather neglectful owner as I always put my studies first, among other reasons. I'd observe the Pokemon of others and watch their battles, but never for myself. That, and I do not think I'd have the potential to become a great battler."

Even though I won't ever say this out loud, I guess you can kind of say the same for me. I didn't have a Pokemon because my dad forbade it. We couldn't even have a common Lillipup lounge around the house. He said there were other important things in life rather than to risk your own life by training. I still can't see the dangers of being a trainer (or at least his logic of it). I finish my lemonade and pull out the coffee I have on the side. The smoke has stopped rising, which is a good indicator that I won't get burned, because this is a notoriously bad habit of mine.

"May I ask you a rather invasive question?" he says while I flip through the different brands of sugar packs. I settle on my favorite one-the one with the Meloetta on it and take five of them.

"Um, sure?" I hope he asks me if I have a boyfriend. I've seen enough movies and TV shows to know that's the indicator that someone is interested.

"As much as I love coffee myself, why are you having it this late at night?"

Okay, not what I was expected but it's one I don't see as invasive nor indicative of anything. "It tastes nice. And it keeps me alert." What I don't tell him is that it's my own personal method of rebelling against what my dad always insisted. I've always loved coffee, as it's kept me energetic but it keeps me up at night, allowing me to do whatever I want whenever I want. I know it's a stupid way to use my newfound freedom, but it's a better alternative than what many other people my age do.

"I see." He gently takes his glass of water and drinks out of the straw. I've run out of conversation topics which happens right around the time a small, polite round of applause and whistles are heard. Oh right. I forgot Roxie existed. I can't really see her face from the stage, but she bows down, her large guitar falling with her. I join in on the applause, feeling guilty that I didn't really bother to listen to her.

"Hey Bianca," she says when she reaches the table. "Who's this?"

"I'm Colress. I'm a student researcher at Castelia University. You did a marvelous job up on stage. It takes a lot of nerve to just do that. Are you an aspiring musician or another trainer?" I can't tell if he paid attention to Roxie's song (songs) as well, but if he didn't, then he's doing a decent job at talking to her, or at least seeing affable. I think that's a good word to use for him: affable.

"I'm Roxie, and yeah." Roxie sits down, shrugging. I notice that in that moment, he doesn't offer her his hand to shake. "I wanna do a couple of things. Why you asking?"

"Trainers pursue the ideals of strength, correct? See, Bianca and I were discussing that very idea and the theme of having a purpose to reach."

"I wanna make a name for myself. I love music and always have, but I love Pokémon just as much. I have a four step process: step one, kick ass at the League. Step two: get noticed enough for my music and battling to become co-dependent, not sure on step three, but step four involves me becoming the second ever Poison Specialist Elite Four member."

"So your Pokémon, you plan on raising it and pursuing its strength?"

"Isn't that what it's supposed to be? Poison's an underrated type and I can see why. It's criminally underdeveloped, not to mention never studied, which kind of blows. I take Vinny all the way to the E4 and bam!" She balls her right hand into a fist and smacks it against her other hand. "I get noticed by the league. If I get noticed by them and stand out enough, and if I stand out enough, I can win some kind of assurance into my dreams." Roxie stops talking and there's a lull in the conversation. But before another word is spoken, Roxie opens her mouth and continues. "Y'know what inspires me? Have you ever heard of that folklore? _The Venomoth and the Dragonite_?"

"Why yes," he says. I nod as well. I'm going to be honest. I love reading Pokémon folklores, but I can't remember this one as much. I believe this one comes from Kanto.

"I'm going to tell it anyway because I freaking love this story. Once there was a Venomoth who challenged a Dragonite to a battle. The Venomoth was over thirty levels lower than the Dragonite, but it accepted the Venomoth's challenge out of amusement. The Dragonite, feeling smug, decided to toy with its opponent and used Barrier as its first move. The Venomoth used an attack that instantly poisoned the Dragonite. The Dragonite thought it was nothing but a scratch and kept using evasive maneuvers instead of attacking back. The only offensive attack the Venomoth had was a Leech Life and it barely did damage. However, the poison was spreading all over the Dragonite's body, yet it was too proud to care. It had kept spamming Agility until it finally fainted and the Venomoth won the battle. So what is strength? Where can it come from? How is it that a lowly Venomoth took on a creature much more powerful than itself? And the Dragonite? It had Hyper Beam, so why did it not attack?" There's that silence again.

"I can see why it inspires you so. However, the logistics of that story are a bit impractical."

Roxie shrugs, visibly annoyed that he didn't truly get the purpose of her story. "Believe what you want to believe."

"But of course. I wish you luck on your endeavors," he tells her. Her scowl is replaced by a smirk and the mood lightens up again. Oh thank goodness.

The waitress comes with my sub and Roxie's cheese pizza. Colress orders a sub as well but we eat in front of him nonetheless. Colress and Roxie exchange pleasantries as I silently eat and avert my eyes away from his face. Roxie's unafraid to talk to people and it makes me a bit jealous. I don't think she finds him attractive or anything, otherwise she probably would have been bold about it. That, and I don't think he's her type. I can't see Roxie flirting with guys in suits or lab coats, to be honest. I don't know, though. She might surprise me.

"So what are your plans after dinner?" Colress asks as we all finish our meals.

"I want to go and get my Pokémon Castelia Cones," I say. I still have to fulfill my promise to Ganon.

"I recommend you go and buy those by the dozen. They're cheaper that way."

"You want to go with us?" Roxie asks. She's ready to go.

"I'm afraid I cannot. I have a few errands I have to run, I was just stopping by because class just ended and I needed to collect my thoughts." Colress stands from his seat. "I thank you two for dining with me and for you allowing me to sit with you, Bianca. It was a pleasure meeting you." He shakes hands with the two of us. Luckily, I don't freeze or take out the wrong hand. Our eyes meet once more and I quickly look away.

"Same," Roxie says. I give a small smile. He opens the door for us and leaves over to the right side while we go back left. I look back to see if he's still on the street. He is, his body turned in our direction. I can't quite see his face, but I have a feeling he saw me.

"That was interesting," Roxie says as we walk towards the street the Castelia Cones are sold. "So did you get his info?"

"What?" Roxie stops in her tracks.

"Don't tell me you didn't get his Xtransceiver number."

"Um. No?"

Roxie facepalms. "Dude, really? If a guy was very obviously into me I'd have totally shared my info with him."

"Into me? No. We were just talking." I feel my face go flush. "That was it." Anyway, I did not get that vibe that he was "into me". Actually...I don't really know what that looks like, to be honest.

"You're a real dork but the next time you see him, you HAVE to promise me that you'll get his contact info, got it? I had to go and play mediator to your little attraction and while it makes a cool song, it doesn't work as well in practice. Understood?"

I don't really get her metaphor. "Understood." As we pay for our Castelia Cones and summon our Pokémon, my mind flashes back to his form at the alleyway. Maybe I'll see him again. Hopefully.

**This is legit one of my favorite chapters. Anyway, please do feel free to review and give this story love. **


	8. Chapter 8

**That moment you realize you've passed your word count from your last multi-chaptered story.**

_**Chapter 8 **_

**_"Stooped down and out, _****_You got me beggin' for thread, _****_To sew this hole up that you ripped in my head, _****_Stupidly think you had it under control"- Beggin' For Thread by Banks_**

For the last few days I've been here in Castelia, I've come to notice that I wake up thinking the same thoughts. Firstly, they run over to how I'm going to defeat Gym Leader Burgh. I have Ganon at a good enough level and he's enough to steamroll through his team, maybe, but I can't take chances. So that brings me to my second thought, which involve Munny's lower levels compared to the rest of my team. Munny is a bit weaker than her other three teammates and she tends to go down quickly even when Ganon hits her with an attack she ought to resist. My third set of thoughts wander to how as Roxie said Castelia was an expensive city and how I tend to waste away my money even when attempting to budget. It also doesn't accommodate Ganon's increasing appetite. He's the powerhouse of my team and I've come to terms with this, but he can't eat all of the experience away. Roxie and I spent the other day training with The Battle Company and when we beat their janitor, we won something called an Experience Share (Exp Share for short), which ought to help Munny out.

The last place and the one I try my best to resist are my thoughts on Colress. It isn't me droning on about how handsome I thought he was, but rather what Roxie said. I do, of course, regret not taking his info, but more importantly, it makes me realize what I'm missing when it comes toward interactions, especially with people of the opposite gender. I thought I had a general idea, what with guys like Cheren or the Striaton Trio, but I didn't realize how my views could probably have major flaws in them. Also, there's the fact that someone actually might have showed a legitimate interest in me is baffling. Me, the girl who most guys at school saw as White's ugly friend with the enormous hips.

"Yo," Roxie says as I come back from the bathroom from when I brushed my teeth. I've come to appreciate these last four days as her roommate. Neither of us are early risers and we tend to do things when we want. I didn't think I'd mesh well with her, but that thankfully got proven wrong. "As much as I'd like to stay here chilling with you, I have to get my ass to Nacrene." I glance over her bed and notice that she's packed her things.

I don't know why, but I feel sadness knowing that I'm going to leave another friend. I mean, I have her contact info and all that so it isn't a permanent thing. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Yeah!" She gives a small chortle. "If you're ever in Viribank, hit me up. You can stay over at my place and we can go to this club where they play good music in. Or see the movies over at Pokéstar Studios." She picks up the small bag she's packed on her bed. "It's been good." Roxie gives me a one armed hug.

"Good luck!" I tell her.

"You too! Also. Remember your promise about that guy, okay?" I feel my face blush at the mention of this and watch her leave the room. I'm all alone now again. I plop down on my bed, my green pajama bottoms comfortably swirling with the thin blankets.

Plans. I have to make plans for the day. I count my dwindling funds and realize I only have enough for lunch. I'm in trouble once more. Time to go and find a brand new job to undertake! It's been a while since I've done that. Ever since the disaster at the preschool, I've focused so much on training that I haven't had the time to focus on myself at all.

I don't know if I'm ready to take on Burgh, though. On one hand, I've got Ganon and Madge, who are capable of getting the job done. Courage has to sit out this battle due to the disadvantage and Munny is too fragile. I don't know if I want to get another Pokémon on my team. I mean, I can barely afford one.

I walk up to the nurse who is attending the center. "Hello! Are you checking out?"

"Oh. Not today. I'm wondering what can I do to earn money in this city."

Her face contorts in a serious manner. "Hmm. That's a good question. There's a place always looking for helpers nearby. It's a small building called Passerby Analytics. It's located right here on the map." She points to a map of Castelia behind her, her index finger making a straight line left.

"Thank you."

I spend my last bit of money for all of us for lunch and find the building the nurse directed me to. It is indeed a small building. When I come in, the first thing I notice is how scattered everything looks. There's books, papers, and other miscellaneous items on the floor. There's only about three people in here and two of them are wearing lab coats. My breath holds for a moment until I realize that none of them are the one person in the lab coat I want to see again. The third person, the blonde woman wearing a pink blouse notices me.

"Hi! Welcome to Passerby Analytics HQ Building! How may I help you?" She's friendly enough so I walk up to her.

"Hello! Um. I was told that you are in need of people?"

"Why yes! We at Passerby always need all of the help we can get! Our mission statement is to go around wonderful Castelia City and gather up information that livens up this place and bring more tourism. We have thousands of trainers come in and volunteer, helping us achieve that mission. They're paid, of course. Are you inquiring about that?"

"Yes?" She talks so fast and her voice is so high pitched that I barely get a semblance of what's going on. I just nod.

"Good. So what's your name?"

"I'm Bianca."

"Okay. Bianca, tell me. What's your favorite season?"

"I guess I like the fall?"

"Good. And may I ask what your favorite subject in school is?"

"Um. I like them all." Truth be told, I'm pretty average in all of them and none of them hindered me as such.

"Interesting. And for a romantic partner do you go for someone smart or someone athletic?"

"Smart." What's with all these questions?

She writes all of my answers down. "See, this is a physical example of what we do here at Passerby HQ for kinesthetic learners. We like to take into account all possible walks of life." I look over my shoulder and see the door. It isn't too early to make a break for it, right? "Your job here is to go around Castelia City for a few hours and poll as many people as possible with questions like these and take notes. We supply you with a pencil and pad to write everything down."

Next thing I know I'm shoved a pad and pencil and given what seems like overtly complicated directions. I tune her out for the most part, trying to figure out how the files she gave me work and I think I understand them.

"Understood?"

"Yes?"

"Great! Now go out and ask people those questions!"

* * *

><p>This was a terrible idea. I've spent the last few hours hanging around the city and its busy streets and I think I spent more time unsuccessfully getting my questions answered and ignored. I've only gotten about fifteen actual responses from people. I think back to when I walked into their office. They just have this quality about them that you want to ignore. I can be perky. I'm generally described as being perky when I'm with friends, but in public like this is exhausting!<p>

It gets worse whenever I encounter people who are visibly rude. There was this one guy who purposely slammed into me earlier, knocking me down. The sheer force of it hurt more than my usual falls, even the one back at the Dreamyard. Wow, that feels like ages ago.

"Excuse me, sir?" I flag down a man wearing a fedora, but he walks by faster, pretending to not notice me.

"Ugh. I give up." Maybe having fifteen responses is good? I walk towards the wharf area, where there are typically less people. I want to sit down and rest for a moment, but then I see something I would have never expected to see on a day like today: Team Plasma. They're not really doing anything, I guess, but all of my senses go on high alert. Calm down, Bianca. Maybe they're not going to do anything bad this time. I walk as though nothing's wrong, but my plans are futile. They notice me and walk by my side. I'm gonna channel my inner Roxie right here, but damn it, they spotted me. Next thing I know, it feels as though they're circling around me like a flock of Mandibuzz.

"Hello there. Are you a trainer?" One of them asks, fake politeness under a glaring face. He's male and much taller than me. He's also got bright red hair like the last few of them have. Is that a thing for them? Nonetheless, I don't respond.

"He's talking to you. You speak when a member of Team Plasma addresses you." Without even looking at them, I make a break for it, going down the street I'm in, attempting and failing to make my way through the crowd. I make a quick left turn towards an empty alleyway.

I immediately regret this decision.

My legs aren't fast enough and they quickly catch up to me. The larger one apprehends me, his hands wrapping around my neck and waist. "I've seen you before, blondie, back at the Dreamyard. You've been resisting us and we don't like resistors," he says, whispering this into my ear. It's enough to make me shudder.

"Let go of me!" I begin to wiggle and squirm, my legs trying to kick him, but his grip is firm. My panic increases more and more as the other grunt takes my bag. I'm glad that it's a disorganized mess for once because all that falls out is a single Pokéball instead of four. Either way, dread seeps in and pours throughout my body, my back freezing in a state of paralysis.

"Miss trainer here is enslaving Pokémon and we need to teach her a lesson," the one with my bag says. He then drops the bag and runs off. The one holding me waits a few seconds and throws me to the floor. I fall on my face and look up to see them running away from me, a Pokéball in one of their hands. My first instinct is to pick up my bag and run behind them. Despite my adrenaline rush, when I reach the main street, they're out of my sight.

When I get to the wharf, where there's little people, I frisk through my bag wildly, counting my supplies. "One, two, three." I toss one in the air and the first to come out is Madge, who is barking furiously. Courage and Ganon are fine, but are somewhat beleaguered at my frantic expression. Munny. Munny, my sweetest and the one Pokémon who willingly went with me because I stopped the same people who...Who—

I fall onto the floor on my knees, wailing. There's only a few people here and I don't care if they see me. I failed to protect Munny. Munny...

"Lady? Lady?" I don't know how much time has passed since I've started crying but the tears won't stop. I remember when that little girl's Blitzle got stolen and how much it hurt me. This feels just as bad, if not worse. "Uncle Burgh!"

I look up to see a young girl awkwardly holding my shoulders. Her red eyes search my green ones. Her most stunning feature is her endlessly long and complicated deep purple hair. It contrasts beautifully against her dark skin. "They stole my Pokémon." I don't know how I can muster my voice, but it happens. Ganon, Madge, and Courage all huddle around me and the girl.

"Who?"

"Team Plasma."

"BIANCA?!" I see White run up to me. I didn't even notice her within my environment. She's accompanied by a man who is for some unknown reason, wearing a large peach colored scarf.

"Iris, I heard you calling for me. What's happening?" he says. White joins him.

"Bianca what happened?"

"I just saw this lady here crying on the docks. Her Pokémon got stolen by these guys named Team Plasma."

"Are you serious?" White says, incredulous. "They need to be reasoned with. They've got some serious hypocrisy going on."

I sniff, Ganon is hugging me tighter and Courage is crying as well for his missing companion. The guy in the scarf kneels down. "Hey, Bianca, is it? My name is Burgh. I'm the Gym Leader here and I swear on my position that I will find you your Pokémon. Even though finding these guys in a large city like this might be like finding a needle in a haystack." This obviously doesn't comfort me. I call them all back into their Pokéballs. I don't want them to see me into a slobbering mess. Not now.

I can only imagine how terribly they're treating Munny and a hundred possibilities float through my mind, all of them negative. I can't keep it together. I'm totally going to lose composure. Munny...

"Whoa. Those are some funny dressed people," the girl named Iris says.

"That's them!" White says. "After them!" White and Burgh tail them. Iris, meanwhile, stays by my side.

"Don't worry. Uncle Burgh always knows what he's doing. He and your friend will get the job done." Iris is awkward in her comforting but it makes me wonder if its because of her age. She's got to be around twelve, yet there's something about her that doesn't seem like she's that age.

I do feel hopeful now that they've been spotted.

"They ran in here!" White yells.

"Huh. That's right in front of my Gym. I mean, this building has been oddly unoccupied, now that I think about it."

Inside are the same people who stole Munny. Or at least I think they did. They all kind of blend in together after a while. I wonder if that's intentional.

"Excuse me, but we're going to have to ask solicitors to leave," one of them says.

"No! You've stolen my best friend's Pokémon and she wants it back," White demands.

Some talk happens, but I'm wayyyyy too nervous to actually listen in. All I can do is stare at the scary guy whose form I saw back in the Dreamyard. Ghetsis was his name. There's something off about him compared to the other two that are similarly dressed. For one, his arms are missing. He's also got that weird monocle. I do have to admit the Musharna did a spectacular job on getting him right. Except it was nowhere near as intimidating as the real thing. He catches my staring at me and I quickly look away.

"One thing we all have in common is that we all care a lot about Pokémon. Even meeting for the first time people can talk about Pokémon. Talk or battle or trade... Remember your speech at Accumula Town? You were responsible for leading me to rethink my relationship with Pokémon. For that, I thank you. At that time, I made a promise... I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to Pokémon even more strongly! What you guys are doing... Aren't you going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokémon even more?" Burgh says candidly.

The other two old men's mouths hang open at what Burgh has to say. He just took their message and warped it into his own little message. Cool.

Iris holds onto my hand.

"Give the girl back her Pokémon then."

"What? But what will the King have to say to this?"

"I don't care what _your_ King thinks of this. Just do as I say." One of the grunts steps forward. Upon closer inspection, I kind of sort of recognize him as the one who went through my bag. I can't bring myself to glare at him as he gives me my Pokéball.

"Munny! Thank you so much for giving her back!"

"Bianca!" White says. "You shouldn't be thanking them for what they did."

"Sorry..." I am still grateful for getting her back.

"Thank you for your time. I hope you all have a great day," Burgh says, gracefully bowing out. The three of us follow, White and Iris both at my side. "Oh my gods, they're so frigging obnoxious."

"Wait, Uncle Burgh, what were you doing in Accumula?" Iris asks.

"My grandparents live there and I was visiting them. Anyway, what do you two plan on doing now that this fiasco has happened? I haven't seen any of you so I'll invite you to go and try out at my Gym. Here's two free passes." He digs into his stylish green and peach pants and hands us these tickets for some kind of art show. It says something about VIP and 16+ on it.

"What are these for?" White asks.

"You'll have to see..." Burgh says. "And what about you, Iris?"

"Oooh! I can be Bianca's bodyguard and we can train together."

"Uh-hm. That's great! Iris is a dazzling Pokémon Trainer, but she's like totally not used to the big city so it's kind of a give-and-take thing." It kind of reminds me of my earlier interaction with Roxie. I wonder what she'd think of all this. Burgh looks at his wrist and checks the time. "I'm totally late for my Kombucha. Toodles."

Burgh sashays off across the street.

"So what now?" Iris says.

"I should go challenge Burgh. After that, I kinda don't want to stay here at Castelia. Knowing Plasma's here has left a bad taste in my mouth."

"Word," I say. "I guess maybe we can go to Nimbasa together then?"

"Sounds like a plan," White says. "I'm off."

"Where do you want to train?" Iris asks.

"Before that..."

* * *

><p>"I'm done. Only got about fifteen responses but I'm not doing that ever again!" I declare at the secretary with the pink blouse.<p>

"Really?" I nod. I know it isn't much, but, "Wow! That's amazing! Here!" She hands me a large wad of cash.

"Wha..."

"No one can get past five! You earned that money! Next time you're in Castelia, consider coming back here. Have fun!"

Well...that went better than expected.

"What was that?" Iris asks as we set out.

"It was nothing. Let's never speak of this again. Now for that battle..." I quickly change the subject.

"Oh right. I'll start out easy on you! Axew come out!" But she doesn't throw a Pokéball. Instead a little green thing comes out of her large hair.

"Axew!" It jumps from it's point, landing almost perfectly.

"Madge!" Madge barks at the little dragon.

"Good choice. I think I like you, Bianca. Axew! Use your Dragon Rage!" Madge barely avoids the attack, but takes a decent amount if damage.

"Madge, use Take Down!" Iris's Pokémon is hit critically.

"Dragon Rage again!" Madge is hit and falls.

With that attack, Madge goes down. I have three left. I know Munny can take it out, but I don't know if she's emotionally available. Iris and I took her to the Center and got her checked, and she was given the okay to battle. "Give me a moment, Iris." I take Munny out of her ball. "Hey, Munny. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you did they?"

Munny has a small look of distress, her small red eyes sad. I give her a small hug. "I promise you that nothing bad will ever happen to you again. I also promise that I will somehow help take Plasma down. I don't know how, but we're gonna do it." Munny lightens up at that. "If you want to help me take out Plasma though, we'll have to train. Come on! I know you can take down that Axew." Munny positions herself into battle. "Munny use Psybeam!"

The attack takes the Axew out.

"That was really cool, Bianca!" The app I own buzzes, telling me that Munny has earned a ton of experience. She goes up all the way to level 18 and learns a new move called Moonlight. "I think we should go to the Center. Axew needs to get a little check up." Axew falls asleep in her arms.

"I'm going to go call my mom." I haven't been doing the best job calling her, but that's because I don't want to see dad and argue with him. When we get there, I go to one of the unoccupied booths and dial her number. She picks up.

"Bianca!"

"Hey mom."

"How's my girl doing?"

"I'm okay I guess. I wanted to check up on you."

"You look a bit hardened up from the last time you called." I don't want to tell her about what happened a few hours ago, to be honest. "Has your adventure been good? Make any new friends? Met any cute guys?"

"Yes."

Her face brightens up. "Yes to all of them! You know that if you meet a guy, he'll have to come here so I can meet him." Then a thought I never thought of comes to mind: the possibility of a guy meeting my dad. He'll get murdered. "Bianca..." Her face grows a bit more dire, as though she just read my mind moments ago. "Be...careful and be yourself." She looks over her shoulder. "He's grown more concerned by the day. He keeps talking about how he's going to come and pick you up. Do not, under _any_ circumstances, go back home with him. This is _your_ journey and _your_ adventure and _you_ have to experience everything for yourself. Understood?"

"Of course." Even though I've seen horrible things happen, I still don't regret anything. If anything, it's made me grow up more. I just know there's an impending conflict I'm going to deal with and it isn't going to be pretty.

Still, I wouldn't know what to do or how I'd act if my dad suddenly showed up and demanded I go back home. And that's the tiny concern that eats away while I try to sort things out for myself.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

**_"But it's so easy in this blue, where everything is good. And I'll never go home again, place the call, feel it start. _****_Favorite friend and nothing's wrong when nothing's true, I live in a hologram with you." Buzzcut Season by Lorde_**

Fighting Burgh was easy. Turns out I could trailblaze with Ganon. His Leavanny went down in one hit due to the double weakness. It still worked in my favor. Not only that, but it turns out the passes were to avoid the sticky stuff, which made me glad. I could barely keep strategy because I'm so desperate to catch up to White before she leaves for Nimbasa.

When I did, I realized how much harder challenging White was compared to Burgh. She's grown unnaturally strong. I don't know how it's happened, but it has. Maybe Cheren's right. Maybe she's special or something and I never noticed.

"Ugh. This place is gross," I tell White when we're in Route 4. There's sand flying left and right into my face. I'm practically afraid of talking because I don't want to swallow anything like it.

"I know, right?"

"So how's your adventure been?"

"I saw Team Plasma a few days after you left Nacrene. I just won against Lenora and they took her dragon skull."

Why am I not surprised anymore. "Why did they want to use it?"

"Something about resurrecting a powerful dragon. I stopped them, but they lost interest in it by the time Burgh and I got to them. They said it was a pseudo-legendary and not a real one and ran off. I don't get their deal and it's really annoying me. Can't they see they're messing up everything worse than it already is? If you want to make the world a better place, you have to, I don't know, not do it by hurting people and their Pokémon." White kicks the sand with frustration.

I'm baffled by all of this. I want to change the subject into something less...Plasma-y.

"So have you met any cute guys?"

"I guess with all of this Plasma drama, I haven't really had the time to notice any guys. And then there's N, who I keep running into time and time again." Ah! The mysterious N I keep hearing about! "I'll admit to you and only you, B, that I thought he was really hot when I first laid eyes on him but like, the moment he spoke, he instantly ruined it. There's something off about him that I can't place and I can't say anything until I have actual evidence of it." There's a silence between us and White purses her lips. "So how about you, Bianca? You see any cute guys?"

"I've seen quite a few," I say with a mysterious intonation.

"Of course you have. You've always been the boy-crazy one of us two." When we were sixteen, I was annoyingly gushy over almost every single guy to the point that it annoyed White. It's cooled down quite a lot recently when other, more important things have come to occupy my mind. "But no specific ones?"

"Well..." White perks up. "There was this one guy. He was really cute and intelligent, but scatterbrained. Also seemed a bit older than me. Mid-twenties, maybe."

"Hmm. You've never liked someone beyond our age. It's an interesting development."

"Maybe it's because they don't have the same interests I do?" It's true. All the guys our age other than Cheren want to talk about sports and other boring things like that and I'm usually at a blank when talking to them. "Anyway, I don't know if I'll see if again, but you never know, right?"

"Maybe." It's been a really long while since White and I really spoke about guys. She had a mild crush on Cheren when we were younger but it never really went anywhere and she quickly got over it by the time we turned thirteen. I could never personally go for Cheren myself. He's my best friend, nothing more, nothing less. I could even say he's like a brother to me! Speaking of Cheren, where has he been?

We reach a crossroads. To the left is something called a Desert Resort and straight ahead is Nimbasa City. "If that's okay with you, B, I kinda want to go left."

"I'll meet you in Nimbasa then?"

"Yeah. It shouldn't take me long. I kinda want to see what's out there."

I really want my coffee. I haven't had my second one of the day and I'm starting to lose some energy while I walk. I can see the gate from far away and speed up the pace a little more despite the mild sandstorm. Then I finally reach the gate. Oh thank goodness!

Though I see someone I clearly didn't expect. She's noticed me first, though.

"Bianca!"

"Professor Juniper! It's been a while!" She gives me an awkward pat on the shoulder. "I was waiting for at least one of you to show up."

"White went to Desert Resort." I wanted to leave due to how grimy everything is. I obviously don't tell her that bit. That and how the sand is getting inside my shoes.

"You look more mature, Bianca. Oh! That's right. I'm forgetting things." She digs through her pockets for a moment. "Here," she hands me ten Ultra Balls. Wow!

"Oh thank you so much, Professor Juniper!"

"No problem."

"Professor. I don't think White or Cheren are gonna show up anytime soon. Wanna get coffee with me at Nimbasa?"

"I'm always down for more coffee. I know a good place by the Center. Come..." I follow Juniper through the gate and when we leave, the small of cotton candy and the beach seize my senses. The air has changed dramatically, with a colorful city overlooking my vision. In the distance I can see a giant Ferris wheel. It's so...bombastic. Unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's marvelous.

The cafe is within walking distance from the park. The seats have quite a view of the Ferris wheel. It must be calming to just sit there and watch the wheel turn and turn and turn and turn.

"I take it it's your first time in Nimbasa, then? It's a city unlike any other, but the appeal wears off once you grow used to it. Still though, it's fun." We walk into a small coffeehouse. "I want the redeye. What do you want, Bianca? I'm paying."

"Caramel frap, please." Once I get my frap, I can barely take the straw away from my mouth. Sweet, sweet coffee and its beautiful smell. I shudder at how amazing the bittersweet taste is against my tongue.

"So how's your adventure going?"

"It's been interesting."

"I remember you saying you want to find something to do with your life. How's that coming along?"

I shrug. "I haven't really found what I'm looking for to be honest..." I let the conversation hang in the air. "So what are you doing here in Nimbasa?"

"My father's asked me to research this Pokémon over in Chargestone Cave called Klink and its possible origins. It's a ways away from Nuvema, but I've enjoyed my journey so far."

"That's really cool. Hey, Professor, if you need a bodyguard or something, I can protect you from wild Pokémon." Or Team Plasma.

"Thank you, Bianca. I'll have to take you up on it. I've got to get going after your friends show up, but once you get to Driftveil, you should definitely go and find me. Call me. I'll definitely be at their doughnut shop. It is to die for. And their coffee as well." She flicks her hand off in exaggeration.

"Really? I love coffee so much."

"Me too. My dad's always complaining about it. 'Aurea, you're too jittery. Aurea! Your teeth are yellow!'" Her voice deepens as she tries to emulate her dad. It makes me laugh.

"My dad freaks out whenever I drink something that isn't water or juice." I huff, "If it's juice he'll freak out about it if it looks suspicious enough."

"Fathers," Juniper finishes. It's weird. Last time I saw Juniper, I thought she was this annoying, overtly talkative woman but now that I know her a bit better, she's kind of cool. Maybe like an older, brunette version of myself. She switches the conversation back to Chargestone. "Yesterday, I managed to get one of my colleagues to let me borrow some of his students so you'll probably have to protect them all as well. Think you can do it?"

"Of course I can!" Well, I _might_. Hopefully.

"That's great. You're really coming along, Bianca." She gets up. "I won't trouble you anymore on your journey. I'll see you at Driftveil."

"Bye!"

I walk to the Center, my frap still in hand, and ask to check in. I don't know how long I'll be here once more, but I'm looking forward to exploring this city.

* * *

><p>After feeding my lovelies, we walk around the city and White catches up to me. "Bianca!"<p>

"Helloooo White! I missed you!" I give her a big hug, feeling better about being in this fabulous city with my best friend.

"I wasn't gone for that long, B. I fought off these Plasma jerks and got this sweet new ride." She shows off her brand new bicycle. I'm kind of jealous, but at the same time, I'm not very good at bike riding. My dad was never a big fan of me doing anything extreme like that.

"They're here too?"

"Yeah." I instantly forget about Plasma the moment my eyes see the glitzy fabulousness that is..."The Pokémon Musical building! Oh...My...GOODNESS! White! White!" I drag her inside. "The Pokémon musical! The one thing of total and utter amazingness that exists in this beautiful world of sunshine and rainbows and sheer adorableness! We're in here!"

"Yeah."

"Wow, you sure are enthusiastic." An old, balding man approaches me. "I'm the owner of this place." I hug him just as hard as I did with White a few minutes ago.

"You sir, are a blessing to this world. You deserve an award for this humanitarian work of pure goodness."

"Bianca..." White says.

"Thank you for your kindness. Here. You and your friend should have this free case for your Pokémon when they join the musical."

"THEY CAN JOIN?!" I can barely contain my excitement on this. I take out Ganon from his ball. "Come on! Let's get you dressed!" Ganon begins to squeal happily, eager to participate. "White, are you gonna join?"

"Sure...Marth. Go. Do your thing. Yeah. Woo." White has nowhere near the enthusiasm I have and neither does her Dewott. Oh well. Their loss.

* * *

><p>I cry tears of joy when I see Ganon dance off the stage. He was positioned next to White's Dewott and an Emolga. The manger gathers the trainers who used their Pokémon backstage.<p>

"Lane: Your Minccino was fantastic. Arnold: Your Lillipup was great as well. Bianca: I've never seen a Pignite seem so happy before. White: Uh...Er...Good job. That Dewott could work on smiling a bit more for the stage."

"Noted. Can we go now?" White says in an exasperated tone. Her Dewott mimics her face as he crosses his arms. Ganon is staring at him and shaking his head.

"Of course! Thank you so much White," I tell her as we leave the building. "It made me really happy."

"I'm glad," White says, her ever-increasingly elusive smile finally showing.

"That's great, Bianca, because you're going home right this instant." White and I turn our bodies to see my dad standing there, his hands on his hips. I knew it was dad's voice but I needed to turn around to solidify that fact. A mixture of feelings erupt the moment I meet his narrow brown eyes, which are currently in a harsh slit. The childish feelings are suddenly back, hitting me at full force in a blindsiding motion. It's a feeling I most certainly do not appreciate. He's not looking at me, he's looking _down_ at me.

"Daddy? What are you doing here?" I know what he's doing here, but the fact that he has the gall to come all the way here to Nimbasa City really surprises me...and hurts me all at once.

"Don't play dumb with me, Bianca. Come with me right this instant. I've got the car parked in the meter. Go and say goodbye to White."

"How did you find out I was here?" I glance over at White, who's too shocked to move.

"I heard that conversation you had with your mother. She told me you were in Castelia. I didn't see you there so I hightailed it to Nimbasa."

"Oh." I feel weak going up against dad. I don't feel like the defiant Bianca who stood up to him a few weeks back. She anticipated her fight. This...This is coming out of nowhere. He gives me a protective hug, as though grateful I'm still in one piece. Of course I'd be. But...

"Bianca. Haven't you taken this far enough?"

Something inside me tears open and a flood of memories open. Ganon crashing into my skirt. White and I fighting Team Plasma at the Dreamyard. Cheren and I talking to Chili. Me holding the little girl whose Pokémon got stolen. Beating Lenora and Burgh. Making friends with Roxie and Iris. Talking to Colress. The sights and scents of every city. That feeling of despair I got when Munny got stolen. That feeling of relief, love, and assurance after getting her back. They last for a second, but it feels much longer than that. I pull away from dad's embrace.

"No." I say a little too softly.

"What was that?"

"No!" I say again in a much louder and more confident tone. "I'm going to keep traveling, dad. I'm going to keep on seeing the world with White and Cheren and my Pokémon and I'm going to see the world. I can't give up now. Not when I'm growing like this," I'm assertive. Assertive Bianca is back and she's not backing down.

Dad steps forward, pointing his finger in a rage at me. "Bianca! You are making an embarrassment out of me. Everyone has their way of doing things and we have our own. I will drag you to the car with you kicking and screaming if I have to." He tries to take my arm, but I quickly pull it back before he manages to touch me again.

"Is that so? Well dad, you do things _your_ way and I'll do things mine, then. Nothing you say or do will ever make me want to quit my journey. I know it hurts you and mom that I'm not home, but I need to do this! My birth mom did this, so why can't I?"

Dad still won't listen to my pleas and for a moment, I fear he's going actually make do on his threat on taking me by force to the car.

"She's right. Sweeheart, you just keep on going with your travels." The voice I hear is not White's, yet it's sleek and very feminine. The voice pops up from the railings and I can't believe my eyes when she comes into proper view. Her long legs, blues eyes, equally long blonde hair, and trademark headphones are unmistakable. It's Elesa, aka Unova's Top Model and Electric Specialist. She's got the very same Emolga that was in the theater a few minutes ago (this explains why I didn't hear any compliments about the Emolga dancing next to Ganon, now that I think about it). Nevertheless, she's so much prettier in person than her photoshoots and TV appearances. Whoa, this just got even more surreal.

"Hey! Who are you? This is a family matter!"

"My name is Elesa. I'm this town's Gym Leader. I'm also a supermodel, but that's really irrelevant to the situation at hand. Your daughter is correct. There are many people in this world. Some may think in ways that are different to yours. Sometimes, this may hurt."

Team Plasma immediately comes to mind.

"Of course," he says. "That's exactly one of the reasons why I've come to take Bianca home with me. It worries me that there are people with sick minds everywhere. You can see faces, but you can't see the hearts and minds of people."

"While this is true," Elesa responds, "It's important to keep seeing what's out there and to see these things unfold for yourself and seeing the differences between yourself and others. The world is not a pretty place, but you can make it that way if you try. Also, I don't think you should worry, Sir. I've seen this girl's Pokémon." Elesa winks at me. "Even though all trainers have their Pokémon by their sides, your daughter's is happy and protective of her. A lot of them are cute, just like Natasha over here," she pets her Emolga's head. It replies by giving a soft purr. "But many of them are dependable as well."

"She's right, Mr. Bel," White says from the doorway. White! I forgot she's still here!

"Dad, I've already seen things. Bad things. And there's plenty of painful things that will happen in the future, but that's life. I know you want to protect me and that's why you worry, but I understand! I know. I totally get it. But like, listen. Just as there are plenty of bad people, there's just as many nice ones out there. And I've been growing tougher each day since I began traveling with my Pokémon. I can totally tell. So please? Understand me, dad."

Dad looks away. I know he's thinking about her. I understand having a child for eighteen years and one day they leave. The routine you've settled up is now gone. You won't be tucking them in bed or reading them a story or saying goodnight. You won't be feeding them or watching TV with them. Dad's already gone through a loss one time and he doesn't want to experience it again. "Hmm...I guess...If wanting to continue your journey is selfishness on your part..." I cringe inwardly. Nothing Elesa or I have said has helped. He's doomed to repeat his stubbornness. "Then wanting you to stop yours is selfishness on my part as well." I let a huge breath of air out. "I'm surprised that I'm being so childish. I'm sorry Bianca, for embarrassing you, for everything, really. The two of your are right. If this is the path you truly want to take in your life, I won't stop you anymore. Just know you're loved and we'll be at home, cheering for you."

Tears begin to well up in my eyes and I run to my dad, crushing him in my embrace. "Thank you daddy!" He hugs me back, sniffling. "I love you."

"I love you too." He lets go of me. "I hope with all of my heart that your journey will be fun. Bon voyage. White, promise me that you'll take care of my little girl."

"Noted," White straightens two of her fingers to her cap and salutes him. He begins to walk back to the parking lot.

"Dad! I promise I'll come home eventually once I find out what I want to do with my life! Once I find a purpose!"

Elesa turns to me. "He looks familiar. I'm almost certain he was a trainer and has traveled in the past. I understand being a parent must be hard." Elesa faces down and gives a look of concern. "I'm sorry...Bianca, is it? I didn't meddle too much, did I?"

"Nah. He deserved it," White says from afar. She's blowing on one of her hair strands dismissively.

"It's an issue that's very dear to my heart, so I had to chime in. Anyway, I run the Gym over by that giant Ferris wheel. You can't miss it! I'll be waiting for the two of you there." She turns away and struts back towards where she came from, her Emolga flying right by her side.

"Did that just totally happen?" I ask White.

"Seems like it."

"That was so cool! Elesa's such a cool lady! Anyway, I really should go and train Ganon and the rest before challenging her. Later, White!"


End file.
